Politicos Agree: Romney Won The Debate

Daily Beast: Mitt Romney, Front and Center

According to most blogs and pundits, the overall winner of Monday's CNN/WMUR debate was Mitt Romney (R-MA). Republicans have a historical tendency to nominate the guy that came in second in the previous nomination cycle. That would make Mitt Romney the de facto front runner for 2012. Indeed, Mitt was front and center in this week's debate and polls do show Romney well out ahead both in New Hampshire and nationally.

Going into the debate, most pundits expected a Romney blood bath. If he could deflect criticisms over his Massachusetts health care plan and past flip flops, smart people believed he would be in good shape. Though Romney's record was a hot topic of conversation, criticisms were much less harsh than expected. Governor Tim Pawlenty, who only days earlier referred to the Massachusetts plan as "Obamneycare", waffled when pressed to stand by the comparison to the president's plan.  Rick Santorum (R-PA) passed on an opportunity to nail Romney on his abortion record.

Romney used his experience from the last nominating cycle to his advantage.  He appeared confident, thoughtful, and compelling.  He defended his record without coming across as defensive, and always pivoted his own attacks toward President Obama rather than his Republican colleagues.  In a word, he was presidential.

Other candidates also had their moments. Rep. Michele Bachmann announced her candidacy on stage, Newt Gingrich rehashed his criticisms over Paul Ryan's budget plan, and Herman Cain had his witty charm on full display. Ron Paul drew applause from the crowd and his perennial views on monetary and foreign policy came across as much more mainstream than they did just four years ago. Rick Santorum managed to sound mainstream as well, despite his long track record as a vocal (read: extreme) social conservative.  Tim Pawlenty rebounded from his Obamneycare waffle with a compelling narrative on the role of unions and the right to work.

Look for Romney to solidify his lead in the polls and frontrunner status in the wake of the NH debate.

Posted by Nick Stone on 2:05 AM. Filed under CNNDebate, Mitt Romney, Nation, POTUS . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0