McCain Shines at Latest GOP Debate

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McCain Shines at Latest GOP Debate

The Fix didn't liveblog last night's Republican debate in Florida, but I certainly watched it, interrupted only by the occasional channel switch to check on Game 7 of the Red Sox-Indians series.

The Republican presidential candidates stand on stage during the Republican Party of Florida debate Sunday night at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. The debate was moderated by the Fox News Network. (Getty Images)

The first 30 minutes of the debate provided some of the best moments of the campaign so far, with John McCain accusing Mitt Romney of seeking to fool the American people about his record, and Fred Thompson challenging Rudy Giuliani over his public declaration that he voted for Democrat Mario Cuomo in New York's 1994 gubernatorial race.

After those first 30 minutes, the debate lapsed into standard-issue talking points. But as always, The Fix was able to divine the winners and losers. Feel free to offer your own in the comments section below.

WINNERS

John McCain: McCain won the debate with a single line. Talking about the fact he wasn't able to attend the Woodstock rock festival back in 1969, McCain said: "I was tied up at the time." Wow. A subtle reference to his time as a POW in the "Hanoi Hilton" that the crowd slowly but surely caught on to and eventually rewarded McCain with an extended standing ovation. McCain also nicely balanced seriousness (his unwillingness to gratuitously attack Hillary Rodham Clinton) with his trademark wit (poking fun at his advanced age in a question on Social Security). It felt like McCain was at the center of the debate last night.

Mitt Romney: At the start of the debate, the former Massachusetts governor seemed off his game. He flubbed a line about Hillary Rodham Clinton and seemed more car salesman than presidential candidate at times. But as the debate wore on, Romney scored points with his passionate defense of his record as governor -- most notably on health care. Romney is most natural when speaking about his record of accomplishments; from Bain Capital to the Olympics to Massachusetts, he has put together an impressive resume of results. Romney spent much of the latter half of the debate reminding viewers of that.

Charlie Crist: The Florida governor got more face time than everyone on stage except the four frontrunners, thanks to being seated directly behind the debate's moderators. (Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who recently stepped aside as general chairman of the Republican National Committee, wasn't as lucky; one moderator's head blocked the camera's view of him.) Behind the scenes, Crist surely got plenty of attention, as all of the top-tier candidates covet his endorsement before the Sunshine State's January primary.

LOSERS

Fred Thompson: Unlike the last Republican debate (Thompson's first) where the former Tennessee senator stood at the center of the proceedings, he seemed to fade into the background tonight. Thompson's speaking style -- slow and, at times, halting -- coupled with his tendency to look down at the podium (notes?), made him look something short of presidential. Thompson's best lines of the night came at the very end of the debate; his rebuttal to persistent charges of laziness were very effective, but by the time he uttered them even the most dedicated political junkies had probably clicked over to watch either baseball or football.

Barack Obama/John Edwards: We listed Clinton as a winner in the last Republican debate and could have done the same for last night's proceedings. But we figured we'd change things up and put her two main rivals for the Democratic nomination in the loser category this time around. Why? Because the more that Clinton is cast as the inevitable nominee in national forums like the Fox debate, the more likely it is that she will become that nominee. Clinton's name was invoked last night more than former President Ronald Reagan's; not a single Republican candidate mentioned either Obama or Edwards.

The Second-Tier GOP Candidates: For the first half hour of the debate, it was easy to forget that Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo and Mike Huckabee were on the stage. As usual, Huckabee made the most of the time he had, but the brutal reality of not being in the lead pack hurt him more tonight than it had in other debates. As for the other three, is it possible they don't make the cut at future debates? It sure felt like we were moving in that direction last night.

By Chris Cillizza | October 22, 2007; 10:32 AM ET | Category: Eye on 2008
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