* Panel as a whole sounded good
* Winner: Romney. Sorry, I know he's despised here, but he's manifestly the best at this. Unflappable.
* Loser: Ron Paul. Goes off the rails completely with the border fence and trashes Reagan's legacy. Why Ron?
* Thumbs up: Perry - proves he's a better communicator than Bush (thank God), takes plenty of jabs, but does reasonably well despite (slightly disconcerting) slow/halting pace of speaking and clunky overreliance on notes. Gives refreshingly honest assessment of Social Security, despite the obvious political risk (which I trust (hope) is principled candor and not political naiveté).
*Thumbs down: John Hunstman - liberal car salesman routine with smarmy view of conservatives/man of the world routine becomes even more grating. Bachmann - Couldn't breakout and was marginalized; $2 gas claim still absurd. Gingrich - Tough guy routine losing its spontaneity; ignored for most of the debate. Cain - Likeable and good slogans, but appears to be lacking in substance. Santorum - irrelevant.
Just my opinion.
None of the rest have that kind of guts---its called leadership. Few of the others except maybe Newt have it.
Biggest loosers, Obama, MSDNC, Ron Paul for going off his meds a couple of times, Huntsman for being a uniter not a divider.