Thursday, January 26, 2012

Showdown in Jacksonville

A few brief points on tonight's debate:
  • Gingrich built up a lot of expectations going into the debate, but he often seemed unable to counter Romney's jabs.  His attempt to turn the debate on Wolf Blitzer spun back at him.  These increased expectations made his uneven debate performance seem like more of a defeat.
  • Santorum stole some of Gingrich's thunder in his attacks on Romney.  With Gingrich losing support by the day (if recent polling is to be believed), Santorum may find himself gaining in this race.  It might be too early to count Santorum out.
  • This was a good night for Romney.  He pushed at Gingrich in a focused, yet restrained, way.  He didn't seem blustery (for the most part) but in command of details and facts.  He often caused Gingrich to back down and swung hard at Barack Obama.  This was one of Romney's sharpest debates.