Ding,Ding,Ding--Fight over in Ames, Iowa

If Romney is the front-runner, it's a very tenuous position at best. Romney ducked the issue of raising taxes to get his S&P rating, claiming he cut taxes 19 times in Massachusetts. His economic plan was pure gibberish. He invoked the 10th amendment on Romneycare but insisted that gay marriage should be illegal everywhere and that there should be a constitutional amendment against it. He ducked foreign policy issues but said that he would want to get out of Afghanistan within two years (sort of like Obama) but he would listen to the generals (even though he would be the commander-in-chief) and said that America learned its lesson that it can not fight someone else's war for independence for them (!!!). He was against extending unemployment insurance but favored the unemployed creating their own employment accounts (since they have no money).

All GOP candidates were against any debt/deficit deal that would entail $10 in cuts for $1 in taxes.

I think you can put a fork in Newt. Newt spent his time fighting the moderators about "gotcha questions." He likened himself to Reagan who dismissed staff during his 1980 run and invoked Reagan about getting back to sound money, even though the inflation rate was higher then than now. New was against the deficit commission and the deficdit deal. The Fox moderators went after him about his flip-flops on Libya and he got even more confused saying he flip-flopped before he flip-flopped.

Michelle Bachmann came across as the most focused and feisty. She was absolutely insane and even Ron Paul called her crazy. She said if we had defaulted we would have economic recovery in three months. Even Frothy Mix Rick Santorum said "Of course, you have to raise the debt ceiling."

TPaw did his level best in taking the fight to Bachmann and then to Romney. He said Bachmann wasn't qualified to be President, Bachmann retorted about TPaw former incarnatgion as someone for health care mandates and cap and trade. The optics gave Bachmann the edge but verbally TPaw bested her. On Romney he got two bites at the apple on Obamacare, Romney managed to duck the first jab and then was defensive the second go-around. Romney vowed to cancel the Affordable Care Act.

Herman Cain provided amusement and gave his off-the-wall answers that seem sedate in this forum. Cain said that America needed to get a sense of humor on his answer about building a moat with alligators to stop illegal immigration. Cain did get into the issue of Mormonism, saying it didn't bother him but it sure bothered people where he comes from.

We did learn one Bachmann legislative achievement--co-sponsoring the Lightbulb Freedom of Choice Act, which would preserve old lightbulbs against those which would last longer and cost less for the consumer.

Rick Santorum tried to escape Dan Savage by defending the gays in Iran, who are persecuted. But he slipped back into saying that gay marriage was a direct result of polygamy.

Needless to say everyone was anti-abortion. Santorum said he would make abortion illegal even for rape because he didn't want the woman to go threw two traumatic events and , besides the rapist probably would not be executed.

Ron Paul had a dust up over Iran with Bachmann and Santorum. Ron Paul said the CIA told him Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon. Santorum claims the Iranians have killed more Americans in Afghanistan than the Afghanis. Michelle Bachmann claimed that Iran was the biggest threat to the United States and that we should continue the war on terrorism without regard to the rule of law. Ron Paul went ballistic saying,"Of course, we need the rule of law."

Tim Pawlenty seemed to suggest we should go to war in Syria.

The problem is that everyone came across as absolutely insane. Jon Huntsman tried to be reasonable but even he couldn't resist going after the EPA's "reign of terror" and claimed that Chinese spying and hacking were acts of war--which obviously he did nothing about as Ambassador. But he came back about same sex unions and tried to portray himself as Mr. rational on the economy except he admitted he didn't have a plan.

Since everything Michelle Bachmann said was batshit crazy, she should retain her base. Mitt Romney will be grudgingly seen as still the frontrunner. But a pre-debate poll has Parry closing fast and Bachmann falling. It's doubtful whether Romney can take a punch with Parry.

It will be interesting to see whether TPaw gets a second look . He did what he needed to do but he still comes across as flat and quite frankly no one cares what happened in the Minnesota legislature.

And say Goodnight, Newt

You should not expect from these debates any realistic assessment of our nation's real problems. With government revenues at 60-year lows, no one considered the need for new revenues. In fact, it was who can outcut the other. Romney had a cute little phrase" the employer community" and this community would determine how much regulation was necessary for the economy. Fascinating idea--say goodby to any common good. It will be determined by the corporations . Then all wars will be determined by the generals. I wonder what the President should do. But none of the candidates spoke about the future of America, the types of technology and business necessary to make it to the next phase and what specific things can be done to get the econonomy growing. The only disagreement was where to fight the next war but no discussion--even from Newt--about the role of the United States in the world.