I plunked myself down with the remainder of a tub of pistachio ice cream last night to watch the Iowa GOP debate. The first debate made me yawn a bit but last night was far different. There was some serious weeding out and I give kudos to the moderators from FOX News, Brett Baier and Chris Wallace, for not asking softball questions – something that ticked off Gingrich. Gingrich called out Wallace for asking a ‘gotcha question’ which drew applause from the audience but then he did it again a second time and that made him look whiny. The Washington Examiner c0-sponsored the event and their questions were not easy either. My only criticism would be that they really gave the cold shoulder to Santorum for a while there.

The Lady’s Take:

Santorum: Didn’t get asked a question for almost 20+ minutes into things. That irritated me because I wanted to hear more from  him. His slap down of Paul on Iran was warranted and I’m glad he did it. I am pro-life but even I found his stance on abortion under no circumstances except when the mother could die to be unsettling. His 10th amendment statements were strong and it’s clear he believes what he says there. I like him, but he’s getting left in the dust. I think Santorum is out for me at this point.

Bachmann: She more than held her own, she took a bite out of a few behinds last night. She started out a bit stiff and parroted talking points at first. I think this debate showed she doesn’t back down from a fight and when confronted stands her ground with grace – especially when Byron York asked her that sexist question about being subservient to her husband. Really, Byron?Bachmann is the 2nd runner-up last night and still in it for me.

Paul: Not a total Nutball last night but close. There were plenty of Ronulans in the crowd cheering his answers – his supporters annoy me more than he does. He rambled through his answers a lot. His stance on Afghanistan and Iran made my blood boil. The man is utterly out of touch with foreign affairs. His little tirade about giving terrorists Miranda and trial rights like they were a US citizen made me want to slap him. He is unrealistically consistent in his ideology. My readers already know what I think of Ron Paul. Paul was never in it for me and after tonight is so done you can stick a fork in it.

Romney: Stayed the front-runner again. He’s got more charisma than any of the other candidates and that works for him and also works against him. It makes me uneasy. His answers were exactly what I thought he’d say and he really didn’t get chewed on by any of the candidates much with the exception of Pawlenty’s jab. I’ll hold my nose and vote for him if he ends up being the candidate, but I am not overly excited about him and never have been. I don’t think they pushed him enough on Romneycare. Romney is still in it for me.

Pawlenty: I had mixed feelings about him at the last debate and they were solidified into dislike this time around. His attacks on Bachmann were empty and petty. He looked like a bully and got more defensive as they went on. That was not the kind of leadership I wanted to see. His record speaks for itself but he over-inflated it with ‘no other candidate up here can say the same thing’ kind of caveats. In a nutshell, he looked bitchy and untrustworthy. Pawlenty is out  for me.

Hunstman: YAWN. Why is he even in this race? So he was Ambassador to China – yes, a big job and was Governor of Utah, but how does this qualify him to run again? The reason I ask is he said a lot of nothing and wrapped it up in sweeping campaign trail sounding statements about what great things he did as Governor. Thoroughly bored and unimpressed with him. He even got called out for not having any plans for the economy on his website and sidestepped it without really answering. Huntsman is out for me.

Cain: I like Herman Cain – a lot. He’s real and of the people. Not a career politician like the others up there. This both hurts and helps him; he looks nervous or defensive I should say but his sincerity tops the other candidates.  He has been a bit of a gaffe machine and his learning curve on Islam/Sharia made me nervous but he put that to rest last night with a solid answer ‘Sharia has no place in United States Courts’.  Cain is trailing in last to me but still in it.

Gingrich: Newt does what Newt wants. Always has and probably always will — that is likely why he will fail in his bid. He had a much better debate this time than in the first one. His slap down of Wallace for the first gotcha question was good and garnered a good reaction. One has to believe he had that zinger ready.  He went back to that Well again and it made him look thin-skinned. Of all the candidates, he knows how things work between President, House and Senate the best and he showed that last night with very blunt answers. He has the logic and nuts and bolts answers, but he has a big likeability problem. People just can’t cozy up to him and he doesn’t draw that enthusiastic gut reaction from folks that Bachmann or Romney do.  Gingrich is still in it, but he needs to figure out a way to turn on some charm.

Some Links:

FOX NEWS: 

• Fireworks Erupt at GOP Debate – Hits the highlights and also has multiple videos embedded.

The Washington Examiner:

The Run Down of the Debate. They have a poll on the lower right hand side that asks who you think won the debate. As of 9 am this morning, The Missing Man – Rick Perry, was in second at 21% behind Newt Gingrich at 26%.

NRO:

• Scoring the Iowa Debate

The Lonely Conservative:

• Live Blogged The Debate. Excellent job and he captured a lot of the important moments.

Yid With Lid:

• Iowa Debate Review – First thoughts, winners and losers. Yid mirrors almost exactly my own thoughts about this debate.

The Blaze:

• York gets booed when he asks Bachmann ‘The Bible tells wives to be submissive to their husbands. If she were president, would that apply to Michele Bachmann?’ As well he should have been booed – that was a ridiculous question. Did he ask the men if they were going to obey their wives and put the seat down when they were done? Come on.

Gateway Pundit:

• Newt Blasts Wallace for ‘Gotcha’ question. One time showed chops, two times shows thin skin like Barry.
• Pawlenty attacks Bachmann for ‘false statements’ then doesn’t elaborate which ones. Pawlenty looked desperate.
• Ron Paul gets booed. Not just in the auditorium did he get boos, but from my couch I literally told him to shut up. He had several ‘Great Pumpkin’ Moments.

Hot Air:

• Pawlenty and Bachmann slug it out. Bachmann came out of it the winner in my opinion. She stuck to her guns and Pawlenty flailed. Not only that but Bachmann was right about what she called him out on.

Weasel Zippers:

• Debate Zinger of the Night: Pawlenty hints that Romney is an out-of-touch elitist. This was Pawlenty’s one shining moment in my opinion.

The Other McCain:

• The Spin Room is Open!

Michelle Malkin:

• GOP Debate open thread