A few notes on the CNN New Hampshire debate

I just finished watching the debate and I have one major complaint.  What was the point in asking so many questions?  By asking so many question, the candidates were forced to give the most perfunctory answers.  It was really stupid to ask questions like; "what would you specifically do to fix entitlements" and then expect a decent answer in 30 seconds or less. For future debates, I really wish moderators would learn that the quality of the questions is far more important than the quantity on the questions.

Oh and those completely asinine questions from John King like Coke or Pepsi?  Our nation is three steps from going to hell in a hand basket and this dumb MoFo wants to know who likes Coke or Pepsi! American journalism is dead, dead, dead!

Here are my notes on each individual's performance.

Mitt Romney:  Was it just me or did Romney seem a little tired tonight.  He did not come off as the man to beat to me. I thought he got a little hung up on the auto bailout question.  He certainly got off easy on the RomneyCare questions.  Despite CNN's over abundance of questions, they totally did not ask Mitt about climate change.

Tim Pawlenty:  I think Tim did himself a lot of favors tonight.  He seemed more like the front runner than Romney. If I were an establishment type, I would be switching from Romney to T-Paw now. Pawlenty totally wimped out on ObamneyCare.  If he is unwilling to clean Romney's clock, how is this guy going to mix it up with Obama and his leftist minions?

Newt Gingrich: Newt looked like a little boy who just found out his dog died.  What was up with that?  Despite the depressed look, he did give some very solid answers on the need to build majorities in Congress next year and fighting false assumptions on immigration.  Did he do enough to undo his self inflicted wounds?  I don't know.

Rick Santorum: Someone really needs to tell Santorum that every answer does not require an angry forceful answer.  The key to getting looking passionate is allowing your natural emotions to temper your response.  You cannot be angry and forceful over everything.  I think Santorum was clearly lost in this crowd and did not really distinguish himself in anyway, especially against his true rivals Cain and Bachmann.

Ron Paul: New Hampshire might not be Ron Paul country.  None of his Fed Reserve, or anti war rhetoric seem to have resonated with the audience like in past debates.  Perhaps CNN screened the Ron Paul supporters at the door.  Tonight, Paul seemed like nothing more than the crazy old man in the corner.

Michele Bachmann:  The gal stood out.  Aside from making her presidential bid formal at the debate, Bachmann came off very crisp, polished and sharp.  Dare I say first tier quality?  Again, despite CNN's flurry of questions they failed to ask Bachmann about her campaign manager's remarks about Palin.  They actually gave Pawlenty a Palin question.  Did her performance overcome Rollin's damage?  Time will tell, but sooner rather than later Bachmann needs to address that.

Herman Cain:  I was really hoping to see Cain run away with this thing like he did the last time.  However, Cain seem to fade to behind Bachmann.  Perhaps it was the questioned he got or perhaps at this stage of the game people are looking for deeper answers.  Whatever the case, I don't feel Cain held court. Cain had better start getting really tight on the Muslim question, because judging from how much time CNN spent on that issue, the left smells blood in the water.

Winners:  Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty.  I feel they both came off better than their poll numbers suggest.  Pawlenty came off much more aggressively than Romney.  Clearly, Pawlenty was working on not being dull.  Bachmann out shined her two conservative rivals Santorum and Cain. Her current Congressional experience easily trumped Santorum's past deeds and provided the details that Herman Cain lacks.

Losers:  Mitt Romney and Herman Cain.  Romney allowed Pawlenty to look far more aggressive than he did. As the supposed front runner and the  establishment's choice, that was a bad thing.  Herman Cain failed to build on the momentum he had from the last debate and allowed Bachmann to look more substantive.  Time to hit the books Herman, more details will be required.

What are your thoughts?  Who did you think were the winners and losers?


NOTE:  If you missed the debate, Left Coast Rebel has the full video up on his site.