I haven't watched a debate in a while, and since they are beginning to matter, I thought I would tune in.

There are still too many candidates in the debate, but apparently they could have used one more. Brit Hume opened the floor to candidates willing to criticize Fred Thompson for not appearing. Many obliged. Thompson's decision not to appear may have been, in retrospect--wise. This was a much more competitive debate and the leading candidates got no cover. If Thompson had been there, he likely would have had to weather a pretty intense storm.

Notably, John McCain did very well in tonights debate--if there can be said to be a winner, he could be reasonably declared as such. Having said that, I think McCain caught a break because he's perceived as a lame duck candidate and didn't get the hard questions. He was able to shoot at the leading candidates from cover and its clear he's had time to reconsider some of his positions and rhetoric. Tonight, John McCain was in fine form. He looked and sounded presidential. I have said he would be out this month--on the strength of this performance, I expect he'll stay in for a while longer.

Brownback and Huckabee also seem to be more in tune with the format. I don't know whether they made new converts, but they didn't lose any ground. Huckabee strikes me as a dark horse candidate--he's extremely personable and I can't help but think he's well-suited for the retail politics of Iowa and New Hampshire.

The top two candidates--Romney and Giuliani, where clearly in the crosshairs and its difficult to perform well under those circumstances. They get the toughest questions and I think both men did well in addressing them, or as well as can be expected.

Giuliani looked tense and sounded over-scripted. His constant references to his achievements as mayor of New York reminded me of a former presidential candidate who incidentally had served in Vietnam. One of Giuliani's greatest strengths is his ability to come off as a mensch, a straight shooter, a guy just telling you like it is. That was missing tonight.

Romney did yeoman's work tonight, but failed to stand out in any way. His facility with the facts and uncanny ability to state any proposition in the time allotted to him, was a big advantage in the early debates, but as the other candidates have gotten better, its clear that he is missing the ability to communicate passion the way Huckabee and McCain did this evening.

Ron Paul is an idiot.