Biggest winner of the night: Gingrich, who lost no ground during his first debate as frontrunner. Romney loses ground. His $10k bet line will haunt him even if he was right about Perry misquoting him. It’s clear that Romney picked a bad time to have his worst debate. Gingrich weathered the storm of being the center of attention well. Santorum was the best of the also-rans which might help him get a respectable showing in Iowa where he’s been working so hard.
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Debate ends. Last word went to Bachmann with her win-win-win nonsense.
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Gingrich gives Santorum credit for speaking out on Iran. He’s right. Santorum made it a central issue in his 2006 re-election campaign. Unfortunately, he’ lost in a landslide.
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Perry says Ron Paul got him interested in the Federal Reserve. Scary thought.
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Santorum recalls that he was inspired to get into politics by listening to Newt Gingrich’s tapes. Reminder of Newt’s central role in GOP conservative politics in the 80s.
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Perry repeats his ridiculous idea about a part-time Congress. Like making them do it in half the time will improve their performance.



