So, Romney mispronounces al-Maliki….

Brownback sounded quite good. He is articulate. Too bad he doesn’t stand a chance.

McCain seems nervous. The Iran-Iraq fumble was a little awkward.

Tancredo. Mr. "Bomb Mecca"

And Giuliani drops the Reagan name…

Romney flip-flops on Osama bin Laden. "of course" except not the other day. My focus group says he looks nervous.

McCain leading bin Laden to the gates of Hell. That’s a good line.

Did someone just dig at Romney’s religion about "divine inspired". But Huckabee has a good line.

Giuliani is on message. He has a good story to tell.

Romney loves America. He loves veto. He calls the US family oriented. Doesn’t he call China family-oriented also? Hunter

Is it me, or are the questions from the public kind of lame?

Giuliani is really struggling with the abortion question. The "code" of "strict constructionism" is not quite what he is saying. And he is struggling with the public funding question…

Brownback on a pro-choice candidate. Is he running for VP?

Is McCain going into the stump speech or taking control?

Was Huckabee’s "Heaven and Earth" line a dig at Romney? Move "heaven and earth" to save a hiker but not kill or capture bin Laden?

Chris Matthews tees something up for Huckabee, but he ducks. But Matthews drills down on him… Nice split-screen.

The second person here is annoyed by Romney’s body language.

Brownback has a nice appeal to Lieberman. That’s clever.

There are good ways to duck questions. And there are Jim Gilmore ways to duck questions… Cut taxes, but "car taxes". He lost the state…

Can Giuliani really duck the "Christian conservative" question? That’s awkward.

Tommy Thompson is wearing his wedding ring… You never know….

Tancredo is pushing the Reagan thing a little far… But who cares.

Do you believe McCain’s dodge of the Giuliani attack? He was Commerce chair, so he has a highly informed dodge.

McCain’s injuries make him look tight. He needs to figure out another way to move in these.

Rudy looks good, but his answers are a struggle. One person I am with has raised money for him and is squirming.

Did Duncan Hunter just acknowledge global warming? That is astonishing. I really do believe that this issue really is moving.

Embryonic stem cell research. Tough question.

Is Romney’s answer a dodge? I think so. But he just flip-flopped from his position. He used to be for funding IVF left-overs.

Brownback has the solid answer.

Has does Gilmore have that answer and unlimited first-trimester abortion? Pretty ridiculous.

McCain tries to shuffle around this. Nice way to tie this to Nancy Reagan. Nice way to mention the difficulty to pro-lifers. Will people buy it?

Giuliani’s answer looks unprincipled. That was awful.

Romney on healthcare. At least he had a good line about Kennedy getting it wrong.

Is McCain’s answer on tax cuts going to fly? Shifting the answer to spending is important. He is on solid ground.

Romney got lucky on taking the tax cut

Gilmore: Car Tax. Car Tax. Car Tax. Too bad you screwed it up!!!

Huckabee talking on tax cuts. That’s silly.

Tommy Thompson at least talks about the real issues.

McCain has a good answer tying it to health care. Speaking as a consultant, I like it.

Ron Paul: Gold Standard. Gold Standard!!

Giuliani: AMT and centrism.

Did I write Duncan Hunter’s answer on what the government does well and badly?

Who all said they didn’t believe in evolution?

Giuliani did well on the Shi’a-Sunni question.

Ron Paul trusts the internet. So do I. Everyone should trust me.

Brownback is good to hit the big ideas issue.

Huckabee lost me at the protectionism…

Tommy THompson has an order of magnitude error on injuries. Oops. Ignorant.

Does it help Rudy to talk about NYC?

This tamper proof ID card is an interesting issue.

McCain handled that really, really well by tying it to the 9-11 Commission. That was really good.

Tom Tancredo is silly.

A friend is shocked by how shiny the goop in Romney’s hair is. "Aliens". Like Battlefield Earth?

Terry Schaivo:

  • Romney. Leave it to the courts. Since when does Romney trust courts? A friend said, "You are running for President, not Congress. Answer the question."
  • Brownback. We knew what he would say.
  • McCain has a good answer. "Moved too quickly"
  • Rudy trusts courts too.

Should Bill Clinton be in the White House?

  • Romney has a good line.
  • Brownback sticks it to her.
  • Waiting for Huckabee. Right over the plate….
  • I am disappointed by Huckabee’s answer.
  • McCain brings in judges. That’s a win. Good call!
  • Giuliani does very well too.

On Bush difference:

  • Romney won’t touch Bush.
  • McCain does very well on spending and Iraq. Very well. Distance from Bush and stay with the base.
  • How does Tommy Thompson criticize the President on health care?
  • Giuliani won’t touch Bush.

The group I am with agrees unanimously on:

  1. Huckabee did best
  2. McCain 2nd.
  3. Brownback third.

Soren Dayton

Soren Dayton is an advocacy professional in Washington, DC who has worked in policy, politics, and in human rights, including in India. Soren grew up in Chicago.