I tweeted this earlier, but I thought tonight’s GOP debate produced unusually clear winners and losers. The winners were Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann and the losers were Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty.
Romney produced clear, fairly concise answers, didn’t filibuster, and managed to avoid attack. He made his conservative bona fides clear without sounding like a tea partier, and he appeared decisive and well briefed. Nothing flashy, but there were no mistakes and he conducted himself like a front runner.
Bachmann, alone of the candidates, occasionally gave genuinely interesting replies that drew on specific knowledge she has from her service in Congress. Her replies were clear, easily understandable, and she avoided sounding crazy. In fact, she often seemed like the best briefed candidate on the stage.
Gingrich was a big nothing. His calling cards are intellectual heft and creative thinking, and he showed none of that tonight. He stuttered through his answers and said nothing interesting.
Pawlenty didn’t bomb completely, but he seemed unsure of himself on multiple occasions and said almost nothing memorable. He can recover, but he’s going to have to stake out some kind of personality for himself if he wants to beat Bachmann for the ultra-conservative vote.
Santorum, Paul, and Cain were non-factors coming in and they remain non-factors now. The debate did nothing for any of them.
