So who won?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

You all saw it comming.

[Pyro]

I think Romney and Paul performed best.
Perry did much better than last time, but again began to stall halfway through.

[redcommander]

Romney and then Hunstman.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Paul, easily (especially compared to previous performances). He was hit with several hard questions, which he turned around and handled well. He plugged his electability in the end, and made none of the usual slip ups that he made in other debates.

Cain in second. He did quite well, but he didn't knock it out of the park like Paul.

[Likely Voter]

I dont think anyone really won. Everyone had good moments and bad moments. While not great, it was Perry's best performance yet and since he showed improvement he wins.

Huntsman and Johnson had good performances

The rest were mostly steady

Again Bachmann seems to fade intro the background

[Cincinnatus]

I really liked Huntsman in this debate.

[cavalcade]

Mitt.  Good performance overall, and hit Perry on Social Security about as much as he could have wanted.  I figure that was the most important issue here by far.

[King]

I thought Huntsman, Santorum and Cain did great all night long.  They've both hit a spark and they might make a run in NH, SC and IA.  

Bachmann and Johnson are dead in the water.  

Perry, Romney, and Paul held their Top 3 ranking and that's all that matters.

[tmthforu94]

Eh, I don't know...

Probably Cain or Romney. Cain performed very well and had some spectacular answers, I just don't see him having any sort of realistic chance of winning this, he's more in this to be VP (hence why I believe he said he'd consider Romney for VP if he were to be the nominee). Romney did a good job getting around the flip-flopping question. He came out of tonight perhaps a little bruised, but still didn't take the beating did.

As long as there's an immigration question, I don't think Perry will ever win a debate. On one issue that America is actually pretty conservative on, he's to the left of all the other candidates. You'd think being the Governor of Texas immigration would be one of his strongest issues.

Johnson got some publicity and might actually get invited to another debate, so it was a big win for him in that regard.

[The_Texas_Libertarian]

Looked like a status quo debate.  No one won, no one lost,  I don't think the polls will change significantly outside of Gary Johnson possibly going up another percentage point due to his national presence

[Dereich]

Romney did mediocre, in my opinion, but apparently the Fox viewing audience says he won. Heh, Santorum's attack seems to have gotten him badly.

[Bacon King]

Romney had a good performance; Perry was okay, but his attacks flopped way more than normal. Gingrich, Santorum, Huntsman, Johnson all had some good moments. Cain did great. Paul was pretty good. Bachmann divided her time between being in the background and being crazy.

[Politico]

Romney. He is in a league of his own. Perry would not stand a chance in a one-on-one debate if it comes to that.

[NVGonzalez]

Gary Johnson, just because he managed to expose himself.

[NHI]

Romney.

[Sam Spade]

So, among the announced candidates, only Romney can win the nomination?

[angus]

You all saw it comming.

You got it first, baby.

I think Mitt Romney struck me as the most Presidential, as these things go.

Although, in answer to the age-old question "which one would you rather smoke a joint with?" I guess I'd have to say Gary Johnson. 

[5280]

Performance wise, Romney.  Paul articulated everything smooth, no hickups what-so-ever.  Perry came back at Romney, but started to crash near the end. Newt, Bachmann and Cain were good, consider them 2nd tier.  Santorum had to throw a hissy fit during most of the debate, I expect him to drop out soon. Johnson made an appearance (thankgod) and Huntsman made some great points.  They need to give him some more time.

[NVGonzalez]

So, among the announced candidates, only Romney can win the nomination?

8 years ago this primary wouldn't be a contest. Not in today's GOP.

[Averroës Nix]

You all saw it comming.

Although, in answer to the age-old question "which one would you rather smoke a joint with?" I guess I'd have to say Gary Johnson. 

+1

I liked Johnson's performance. It wasn't great, he didn't look Presidential, but he's a character. Could he be this year's Mike Gravel? I miss Mike Gravel. No, Johnson's not that crazy. Anyway, I hope that he gains some recognition and confidence. As long as Huntsman and Santorum are going to be on the stage, Johnson should be there too. I think he succeeded with the closing joke: people will remember him for that. (His awkward nervousness totally disappeared after the laughter disappeared, too - very promising.) He also articulated some strong policy proposals that the audience received well in his first answer.

Huntsman's performance was less interesting (no alt rock references). He didn't do anything attention-grabbing.

Romney was very strong. I think that gradual disenchantment with Perry is just what the base needs to convince them that Romney, while flawed, can be trusted. And he can win.

Perry - yikes! Someone needs a debate coach. Why is he always charging at Romney? He always come out worse for it. He can't think on his feet, and he seems inarticulate and inconsistent. His Pakistan answer was also totally incoherent - the guy obviously knows next to nothing about foreign policy and hasn't bothered to bring himself up to pace on it.

Cain - Continued to be the candidate of snappy one-liners, but lacking in substance. His health care answer struck me as strong (Cain's a great story-teller) even though it wasn't well-grounded in reality.

Bachmann - Made Perry stagger a few times, but we all know that's easy. Not a strong performance. Also: Total WTF answer to the HPV question (about her suggesting that the vaccine causes mental retardation).

Santorum - Like many others on this forum, I don't understand why he can't gain traction with Republican voters. Consistent and articulate defender of Republican principals and policies, and strong on the attack (even if he can get shrill at times).

Gingrich - Obviously thinks he's smarter than everyone else on the stage, but it's also obvious that no one else takes him seriously as a candidate (the others wouldn't be so eager to name him as their preferred VP if they did). Totally convinced that he's in this for attention: a place on the stage, interviews, and public appearances. I guess that there's not a lot for a former Speaker of the House (especially one who resigned in semi-disgrace) to do.

Paul - More articulate, concise, and focused than usual. Relatively strong performance. Avoided going off on tangents about stuff like the fed banning raw milk.

The abbreviated version:

Romney - A
Santorum - B+
Paul - B
Cain - C+
Johnson - C+
Gingrich - C
Bachmann - D
Perry - F

[angus]

So, among the announced candidates, only Romney can win the nomination?

8 years ago this primary wouldn't be a contest. Not in today's GOP.

16 years ago, it was the custom in the GOP to give the oldest dog the bone.  I don't think that custom has changed.  We go through these "debates" and we'll have a convention, but in the end, there are only a handfull of candidates that have paid the dues.  Those have slogged it out in the winters in the early primaries, in more than one campaign.  And among those, there's really only one who might have a chance, however slim, of defeating Obama. 

It may not be a great way to nominate candidates.  And the corporate-controlled two-party system may not be in our best interests, but yes it seems as though this nomination is Romney's to lose.  And tonight he seemed to be holding his own fairly well.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Which makes Ron Paul by far the oldest dog in this fight.

[NHI]

Grades:

Romney: A+
Huntsman: B
Gingrich: C+
Cain: C
Johnson: C
Santorum: C-
Bachmann: D
Perry: F
Paul: F

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Romney and Huntsman

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Watching it now. Perry just looks awful in these debates. How he's still leaning most of the polls is just mind boggling to me. Mittens looked good, as did Huntsman.