Just caught up with the Tivo. (Won’t say who I zipped through). A few thoughts and more tomorrow: 1) Thompson wasn’t great and wasn’t awful. He seemed like a fellow comfortable in his skin but in second or third in the race. 2) Romney’s “ask the lawyers” will perpetuate the sense he is not tough enough, confident enough in a post 9-11 world. And someone will have to explain why he thought the line item veto was a winner. 3) McCain was sober and steady but didn’t shine like he did last time. 4) Huckabee suffered from the extra body on stage and could not find the limelight as he usually does. 5) Rudy is a prepared and confident debater. He won the dust up with Romney and his HillaryCare jibe reminded us (as if he would let a day go by without a reminder) there is no one better at Hillary bashing. The debate is unlikely to change the course of the race so in that regard the frontrunner comes away the winner.