Post-Debate Thoughts

Here are mine (sorry, too long for the comments in the other post-debate post):

Romney: Still strong. Not weakened at all through these debates; to the contrary, appears to be getting stronger. Has a polished answer for everything, and was even spontaneously funny at times. Odds are by now he should have had an awkward moment at these debates, but he is holding strong.

Perry: Appears to just have a cursory knowledge of many issues. And simply not a good debater. (If he gets smarter on the issues, does/will his debating skill matter?) Was handed a golden opportunity to slam Mitt and completely screwed it up-I was almost embarrassed for him. Took a lot of shots on immigration yet held firm. He may be wrong on this issue, but one thing to keep in mind is this guy understands the Latino vote better than any of the other candidates, and that will matter in 2012.

Bachmann: If possible, made herself look even more foolish than normal. 'Barack Obama has worse poll numbers than any other President in history.' ? 'I believe you should keep every dollar you earn.' ? Seems terrified that we'll forget she raised 23 foster kids-invokes it at every debate. I've really grown weary of her. I wonder if she'll last to Iowa.

Santorum: Pretty strong. Good on Afghanistan and the greatness of America. Let his intolerance show on a question from a gay soldier. (An aside to Mr. Santorum-next time you get a question from a serviceman, start the answer with a thank you for their service.) Making an issue of DADT at this point is a total loser, it's a law with as much likelihood of being overturned as Roe v. Wade. Way too socially conservative, but strong on everything else.

Cain: Fantastic. Should have chosen a Georgia Senate run for his first political office. Crowd loved him too. Hope there's a home for him in a Republican administration.

Huntsman: Still a total non-factor. Wore an ugly tie. Most remarkable thing about him was the shot of his wife, who is quite pretty and wore a dress showing off a massive rack. Gave Romney a gift when he said 'as an alternative to Obamacare, I would let the states experiment with what works for them to come up with solutions.' It went unacknowledged by everyone, though it would have been a great follow up by one of the moderators.

Gary Johnson: Goofy. But earned his right to be on that stage with the joke 'my neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than the President.'

Newt: Strong and clever, as always. Seems to enjoy being contrary, sometimes to his detriment. A good audience question was 'who on this stage would you choose as your VP?' and he dismissed is as a 'Hollywood' question, which was a bit of a slam to the questioner. He doesn't have to always be a grumpy old man, but he comes across that way at times.

Ron Paul: Was Ron Paul. He fortunately got no foreign policy questions.

Perry is bound to lose some altitude from the shaky debate performances, and better spend the next few weeks doing nothing but prepping for the next debate. It's not too late for him, but a few more performances like this and it will be.

I think the next debate is October 11.