I was very surprised by Rudy's response to the initial abortion question. I would've expected that he'd have that issue nailed, since it's his biggest weakness with primary voters. Yet when it came time to answer his delivery was very awkward.
Granted this is reading tea leaves, but one wonders whether this is indicative of a lack of preparation in all areas of the campaign. Perhaps Rudy has bought into this notion that every remark can be off the cuff; yet "off the cuff" remarks work best when a great deal of time has been spent preparing and conversing on the subject.
He looked awkward b/c he was trying to figure out how he was going to get himself out of the fix he was in.
The more likely scenario is that Rooty went into the debate with Plan A----to show he was the man to ditch those pesky social conservatives off the Repub party lifeboat, and transform the party into a pro-abortion stronghold.
However, as each candidate forcefully stated his pro-life position, Rooty knew he was a goner. Plan A was not going to work. An astute observer could almost see his brain short-circuiting, thinking "now wadda I do."
Ironic that Rooty was faced with the "Right to Choose:" he could choose to betray his NARAL and PP pals and advance himself, or he could choose to advance Plan A and sink his primary chances.