Last night, we were treated to the latest episode of Republican Idol GOP primary debate. I didn’t watch it, so I can’t write about it, but other people did. Here are some of them:
Andrew Sullivan Live-blogged it:
“What does this do? I’m not sure it changes much. Gingrich was the strongest to my mind, with the exception of his dreadful defensiveness on his whoring for money in the rotating doors of Washington’s corrupt elite. Romney needed to up his game and score some real points. He failed, I think. Huntsman had his best debate yet – and makes me wonder if I have under-rated him as a campaigner and debater. Bachmann really came back strong, but Ron Paul stood out. His refusal to pander on judges and Iran gave him a real distinction. Perry was better than recently.”
So did Josh Marshall (Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and reaction):
“If a Rick Perry speaks coherently in the forest but no one hears, did it happen?”
The Gravel Kraken noticed that Ron Paul is smarter than Bachmann:
“I have such tremendous admiration for this guy. In the midst of all that saber-rattling, in very hostile territory, one guy has the guts to stand up and tell it like it is. One guy suggesting there might be flaws with our foreign policy. One guy suggesting a new war with Iran might not be the best way to commemorate the lessons we just learned from Iraq (we did learn lessons, right?).”
No, no we didn’t.
Jonathan Bernstein thinks Fox just wanted to amp up the fighting:
“Fox News itself dominated this one, with a blizzard of gotcha questions and political questions, and hardly any questions about public policy. That meant Newt Gingrich having to defend himself on Freddie Mac for an extended period early in the debate, and Ron Paul (totally unfairly in my view) having to defend opposing earmarks in general while also looking out for his constituents. Mitt Romney was pressed on flipping on social issues, too. What all of that means is that there are plenty of clips that anyone could take from this debate and use in future attack ads.”
520 Chestnut 
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