MSNBC

The winners & losers according to the Wa Post:

WINNERS

Mitt Romney: Many viewers were likely getting their first look at the former Massachusetts Governor and he clearly looked up to the job. Romney was engaging, optimistic and telegenic. He generally gave answers that reflected a familiarity with the big issues and used humor effectively (“Are you kidding me?” he said in response to the question of whether Bill Clinton should be back in the White House). He also managed to provide good if not great answers on his position changes on abortion over the years, and managed to subtly address the “Mormon question” by emphasizing that he is a person of faith. Some people we talked to after the debate thought Romney came across as too slick and too canned. The only time we felt that way was during his over-the-top attempt to make clear to voters he wanted Osama Bin-Laden dead.

Mike Huckabee: Plainspoken and genuine, Huckabee distinguished himself from the vast group not named McCain, Giuliani or Romney. Aside from McCain, Huckabee was the most critical about the current administration. Huckabee said he would have fired former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before the November 2006 elections, adding:.” I certainly wouldn’t have said that we are not going to do it and then, right after the election, done so.” He also offered one of the most memorable lines of the night saying that Bush was listening too much “to a lot of folks who were civilians in suits and silk ties and not listening enough to the generals with mud and blood on their boots and medals on their chest.” The question for Huckabee is: “What’s next?” He has long been seen as a candidate with real potential in the race but hasn’t built the kind of financial and grassroots organizations to compete with the big boys. Can he now?

Questions from Viewers: Lots of people we talked to last night and this morning were upset about the format of the debate, arguing that it rewarded a slick soundbite over a substantive policy point. Maybe. But we really enjoyed the fact that the debate also featured a number of questions from “real” people. Sure a few of the questions were somewhat bizarre (Rep. Tom Tancredo got asked about organ donation). But we thought the question asking former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to explain the difference between Sunni and Shia was revealing. The viewer question portion of the debate wasn’t perfect, but it provided a nice change of pace.

Fred Thompson: The longer Thompson can avoid these forums but keep the excitement around his candidacy high, the better. It’s very difficult to come off as the savior of the Republican party when you are on stage with 10 other guys all claiming to be able to do the same thing. By staying out of the fray for now, Thompson avoids any potential pitfalls that come with taking rapid-fire questions on national television for ninety minutes. Given where he stands in most polls, he doesn’t need to subject himself to the melee just yet.

LOSERS

Rudy Giuliani: There was just too much talk about abortion and social issues for Giuliani to come out a winner. To his credit, he didn’t back down from his pro-abortion rights stance but his response that it would be “ok” if Roe v. Wade was overturned left us wanting more. We have long wondered when and if Republican activists, who are overwhelmingly “pro life,” would begin to look beyond Giuliani’s credentials as one of the heroes of the Sept. 11 and closely examine his stance on social issues. Last night could well have signaled the start of that deeper examination, which could spell trouble for Giuliani. Giuliani’s best moments came when he was trumpeting his accomplishments as mayor of New York City and when he pledged to stay on “offense” against the terrorists, but there were just not enough of them to neutralize all of the abortion talk.

Tommy Thompson: In our preview of last night’s debate we noted that Thompson had a story to tell but wondered whether he would get to tell it. He didn’t. And it didn’t help that Thompson never seemed to get his footing in the debate. He was expansive when he should have been concise and vice versa. Need evidence? Check out this response where he tried to package the Tommy Thompson story into 60 seconds: “I’m the reliable conservative. I vetoed 1,900 things. I reduced taxes by $16.5 billion. I’m from Wisconsin, a blue state, and I won four consecutive times. I still have a very high popularity appeal.” All true but said in such a rush that anyone not listening closely would have missed it.

Osama Bin-Laden: Romney didn’t seem to leave much room for tougher talk when he pledged that Bin-Laden “is going to pay, and he will die.” But McCain one-upped the former Governor with this gem: “We will track him down. We will capture him. We will bring him to justice, and I will follow him to the gates of hell.”