[Doofer]

All in all a half way decent article on yesterdays debate.

[sourcery]

The debate about the debate is more interesting than the debate itself.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Romney may have been right on the constitutional procedure, but wrong in a debate where the objective was to woo hardline GOP voters.

So the GOP no longer respects the constitution?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

From a clip on the news, Ron Paul went hyper, Thompson paused for a long while, Giuliani and Romney got into a spat.

Huckabee and Brownback supported a flat tax. A sensible idea.

Is there video of the debate on the internet for free that isn't pirated?

[YaYa123]

Fineman did his usual safe rehash of the MSM’s conventional wisdom. He could have done an interesting report on Chris Mattew’s pretense at being a legitimate journalist, a non-biased moderator, but no way would Fineman risk angering Matthews into exiling him, again, from his HARDBALL gig.

Here’s vintage Fineman blogging from the 2004 Boston Demo Convention...doing what he does best....sucking up to Chris Matthews: “Sometimes when you are tired — when you’ve been yakking all week and racing from a convention hall to a political reception to an interview — you screw up, big time, as Dick. Cheney would say. Well, I did that this morning by failing to defend the best political mind on tv, my loyal colleague and host Chris Matthews. Don Imus was complaining in his usual towel-snapping way that there was too much crosstalk on “Hardball,” that we were all trying to talk over each other. True enough, perhaps — we were all a little cranky by last night — but not Chris’ fault. He loves the game so, and knows so much about it and we all feed off of his energy and enthusiasm. ... Matthews is the best thing on political tv. That’s what I should have told Don Imus. ... So now I’m headed back to washington for more work — gotta write my newsweek piece — and, I hope, some sleep. “

[TheMole]

Rudy Giuliani, trained for combat by the toughest press corps in the world (in New York) ...

You mean the same New York press that fawns over Hillary? They're about as tough as Hello Kitty.

Oh Senator Clinton, you're just the smartest woman in the world!

[Raycpa]

One would have thought he would have already consulted the lawyers and knew what he could or could not do before he even enters the debate.

[newzjunkey]

Fred Thompson ... seemed in over his head as the CNBC debate began here.

What?

[torchthemummy]

“Fred didn’t die today,” said Ron Kaufman, one of Mitt Romney’s top spin doctors.

While I don't think Thompson was necessarily stellar, for Fineman to use as his first source an admitted Mitt Romney spin doctor is beyond belief.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Fred Thompson . . . seemed in over his head as the CNBC debate began here.

Seemed.

TV is about appearances. Which ought to tell us more than enough about the desirability of these debates joint news conferences.