THE DEBATE – AT 11:25 P.M. ET:  The Iowa debate is over.  Here are my reactions:

It's hard to say, with so many candidates up there, that anyone "won."  You know what happens with these debates – your eyes glaze over after 45 minutes, especially when the number of participants gets beyond two or three.  However, I think that Mitt Romney came out somewhat ahead, overall.  He didn't whip up much enthusiasm – he never does – but no one else weakened him by their attacks.  For a presumed frontrunner, even a tenuous one, that's a plus.

Michele Bachmann turned in her usual good performance, but it wasn't as much of a standout job as she did in the first debate, in New Hampshire.  Didn't hurt herself, didn't help herself.

Tim Pawlenty tried to create traction by taking on Bachmann, but it just made him look smaller.  She is an excellent debater who parried his attacks smoothly.

Newt Gingrich came off as the most knowledgeable candidate on the platform, and the clearest thinker.  But he's a voice from the past, and not all that likeable.  I don't really think he has a chance, although he is always educational.

This was Jon Huntsman's first time out debating the other candidates.  He is the former governor of Utah, and held his own, but didn't stand out.  For a while he reminded me of the late comedian, Don Knotts, somewhat nervous and on edge.

Rick Santorum has no chance, and neither does Herman Cain.  But I must say that both were articulate and forceful.

Ron Paul, who had his usual claque in the audience, is a nutbag whose foreign policy is indistinguishable from that of Code Pink.  He's an isolationist and anti-defense "libertarian" (not really) who'd take us back to the policies of the 1930s.  He's the kind of a guy who would have rooted for the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, and I wish the men in white suits would cart him away.

The man who wasn't there was Rick Perry, whose name hung over the place like a low-flying cloud.  He enters the race on Saturday, and he will have to show up for the next debate in September.  Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani also weren't there, but their names are not generating the kind of buzz that Perry's generates.

So, on balance, not much changed.  Romney came off well enough to stay the tentative frontrunner.  Michele certainly stayed near the top.  The others, except for Paul, were respectable. 

The Iowa straw poll is Saturday.  Perry and Palin will be in the state over the weekend.  A lot of politics.  We'll be covering.

August 11, 2011