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He just has to continue his polished look, tell a few Hillary jokes, and cross his fingers that his supporters aren't going to dig much deeper in the past than 9/11.

What struck me is how really solid he was during the debate, switching modes emotionally, drawing people in as he set up his phrases, how he didn't make pauses or stutters, no distracting gestures, just a total solid debater. And a tough New York prosecutor is of course going to have that quality.

But where we can take hope is his post-debate interview with Sean-boy. Right back to his usual reptilian level of appeal.

I thought Mitt was off tonight. His hair wasn't right, he seemed off-balance from a few of the attacks though he rallied well and stood his ground. But what impressed me was how well he did in the post-debate. Like this morning with Schieffer on the CBS interview, Romney comes across well in person. When you look back at the influence on past elections from candidate interviews on Oprah or especially the sweetheart interviews the candidates and spouses get on Sixty Minutes, you can see how Romney could win out on personal skill. There is something about the confidence and the way Romney talks on finance that I think is his real strong suit. On finance and organization, Romney leaves the rest in the dust. Which is why he's ten times as rich as the rest of them and didn't make any of his money off government contracts or contacts.

Fred had a few good moments, especially when he lit into Rudi. There is something though that Fred, well, that he's been out of politics for too long or that debate isn't his strong suit. I noted he had a good command of facts and mustered them effectively. In instances where his legal skills could come to bear, he did well. Fred's biggest problem is that the other campaign's are so much better organized, the other candidates with more recent debate experience. Watching on TV, it's easy to forget that debating is like target practice: you have to do it constantly to be good at it. Fred may yet turn it around but he's short on time. I noticed Fred was really pushing his pace faster during his exchange with Sean & Alan and doing well. So Fred is working at it and I think he's working pretty hard. He might yet pull it together.

Wow! Good analysis.

I have to say one thing. You and I don't agree on who we support for President and probably a number of other things. But it seems that you and I are able to discuss it together without a bunch of angry exchanges, put-downs, and all that. We need more people like you on Free Republic right now. I mean, I understand the vitriol against Giuliani as he is the enemy of all that is good and conservative. ;-) But what I don't understand is why the Thompson supporters hate the Romney supporters. And why the Hunter supporters hate the Thompson supporters. Etc.

One can make good and bad observations about every candidate and it doesn't mean that they deserve to be attacked. I wish we could all learn to post intelligent comments and keep the contention to a very dull roar. Just because someone might disagree with someone else on a few minor points doesn't make them enemies.

We're all on the same side and generally have the same conservative goals. This primary election will be over before we know it and we all have to remain friends and allies afterwards. I think that you've been a good example of how we all need to act whether we agree with someone or not, whether we support another poster's candidate or not, etc. Keep it up.