It’s so early and there will be so many more of these debates it doesn’t make sense to count anyone out based on last night’s performance — especially someone who went into the encounter ahead in the polls and with less to prove than the lower-tier candidates.

That said, Giuliani really does need to decide how is going to handle the abortion issue and then stick to whatever strategy he settles on. If he is being fed lines to win over pro-lifers that he keeps botching because he is pro-choice by conviction, he should cut it out. If he is truly conflicted about the abortion issue like millions of other Americans, he would do better just to say so. If he wants to run as an unrepentant pro-choicer or as someone who is personally pro-choice but operationally pro-life, he should just do so.

Right now Rudy’s abortion muddle is only making pro-choice voters doubt him without helping him among pro-lifers. That won’t derail his candidacy but it doesn’t help.