McCain’s entire demeanor was transformed. No aggressive barbs and no errors. As the frontrunner with a compelling pitch about his military service and once again avoiding a wound on immigration he’s the winner. Romney of course was much better and much improved but without an opening or the rhetorical daring to directly confront McCain he must leave feeling frustrated. Huckabee likely had the weakest outing, showing his shaky foreign policy credentials. Still, even he was not too bad. For Rudy, he made an effective showing and without being dragged into the tit for tat between Romney and Huckabee may have made up some ground. Thompson is ever steady and ever conservative. It is hard to see why movement conservatives would not consider him seriously if Romney loses on Tuesday.
