Here's my scorecard:
- Newt by a landslide; very presidential
- Bachman, strong on constitution
- Santorum, slipped from second on his debt ceiling response, but absolutely spot-on solid on his response to no exceptions on abortion and the 10th Amendment.
- Herman Cain, excellent responses on the economy and business, recognized his limitations on foreign policy and like a good leader would rely on experts. Likeability factor is #1 among candidates.
- Tim Pawlenty, solid on attacking Barack Obama, but he got sissy-slapped around by Michele Bachman. Note to TPaw: if you pick a fight with a girl, make sure you can take her...just sayin'
- Mitt - Slick Willard the Snake Oil Salesmen was spared from last place because of Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman.
- Ron Paul - solid on fiscal issues in most cases and the constitution but he is dangerous when it comes to national security and understanding the threat of radical Islam. I told Rand as much in 2007 at NFRA Presidential Preference Convention in St. Louis.
- Jon Huntsman - he's running for President? He was Governor of Utah? He was Obama's ambassador to China? He is very proud of his record...
The 800 lb elephant in the room; make that two of them: Perry and Palin. It's just gettin' started.
All kidding aside, FOXNews did an outstanding job overall with the debate, minus the snarky Chris Wallace and the stupid submission question from Byron Dork...huh?...oh excuse me, Byron York.