Overall impression of the Republican Debate (simplified, in no order except categories):
Winners:
Mitt Romney - He's very slick, great improv speaker, and has that stereotypical conservative appearance. He's very good at manipulating crowds and that's why he's the establishment choice, as I've called it from the start.
Ron Paul - He was far more aggressive than usual, and got a lot more camera time and questions asked during the middle part. Additionally, he's the only real statesman on stage that has a wider breadth of knowledge on the subject, so he wins intellectually, as well.
Stagnant:
Rick Santorum - Despite being a frothy byproduct of anal sex, he had some good answers and some bad answers, politically speaking. He went nowhere and will continue as such. He comes across as an asshole, anyways.
Newt Gingrich - Tried to play intelligent, moderate republican, but all in all, not shabby but not impressive. His numbers won't rise unless the media wants to upgrade him.
Down:
Hermain Cain: This debate was the most Jerry Springer like yet, and while Cain wasn't usually the focus of it, he can only speak in simplistic platitudes and the fact he advocates a 9% federal sales tax makes him completely unelectable, especially in the early primary states, which was pointed out frequently and in the end, his media-induced faux "frontrunner" status will be gone quickly.
Michelle Bachmann - Her performance was terrible, and she came off as crazy. That psuedo military dress was kind of hot, though.
Armageddon:
Rick Perry: You challenged a master at manipulation, and you lost, and not only did you do it once, you did it ad naseum. I knew why the system put you in: to uplift Romney, and called that from the beginning, and you didn't know it yourself? I'm some drunken alcoholic weirdo and I knew that from the beginning.
