Liveblogging: The GOP Debate

7:17 PM - The time is drawing near for the Republican debate. The network du jour is MSNBC, chosen for it's slanty liberal goodness wrapped in a "What, c'mon we treat both sides equally!" shell. In the pre-game coverage they've been getting commentary from Bob Shrum, loser of elections par excellence.

7:31 PM - Really, Keith Olbermann is nonpartisan. No, seriously.

7:35 PM - Nancy enters with Ah-nold. A very California moment.

7:40 PM - The help keeps bringing me the Laphroaig when clearly I asked for the Talisker. Frustrating!

7:59 PM - Lots of discussion about Fred Thompson. And here we go ...

8:02 PM - Questions get to be submitted via Politico.com. Dynamic populism!

8:03 PM - Rudy: Spin the question back around to your talking points. A scattered effort.

8:05 PM - McCain: If we lost (according to Congressional Dems), then who won? Say it over and over again. People need to hear it that way.

8:08 PM Romney: A good answer on Iraq. Knowledgeable. Hope he didn't blow his big money answer.

8:11 PM - Huckabee is coming off well. Best of the little guys.

8:15 PM - Ron Paul = GOP Howard Dean (But does he have the rebel yell?)

8:18 PM - I'd like to hear more from Rudy. Also, I think the questions looking for a division with Bush are getting overplayed.

8:26 PM - There's a good reason why Rudy, McCain, and Romney are at the top of the pack.

8:30 PM - The correct answer on the "Roe v. Wade" question: It depends on what replaces it.

8:33 PM - Matthews goes after Rudy and lobs a softball at McCain.

8:37 PM - Hey Ron Paul, it's called asymmetrical warfare. You can't dodge it, and it's a real threat. The libertarian riff seems a little naive.

8:42 PM - None of these guys is drawing a contrast to the Democrats. This seems like a huge mistake. What they are saying about these issues would be so much more persuasive if they explained the Left's take on the same (for example security, religion, abortion).

8:46 PM - This is getting unfocused. I did like Tancredo's explanation of centrism versus Reagan-esque stand-by-your-guns principle.

8:53 PM - Abortion ad nauseum. Completely overdone. In a side by side comparison I am sure they didn't try half as hard to try and find issues that divide the Democrat field.

8:59 PM - Matthew lobs another litmus-test 'yes or nor' divisive issue - stem cells - that cannot be reduced to yes or no answers. Gonna catch him a GOP'er!

9:04 PM - Linkage to other blogs covering the debate at Instapundit.

9:10 PM - Another litmus red herring, a 'yes or no' about evolution. They don't want an extended answer for these, do they? But the Democrats are allowed to parse, and discuss nuance, and talk around shades of grey.

9:17 PM - A small percentage of these questions don't appear to be about abortion or Iraq. Perhaps there was some kind of mix-up during debate prep.

9:19 PM - While I appreciate the fact that Rudy worked so hard to reduce crime in NYC, I wonder if this isn't overdone. Also, isn't it a very different beast, being effective at the federal level?

9:20 PM - Thanks for the link, Mr. Glenn Reynolds!

9:21 PM - Scooter Libby is a no-starter, inside the Beltway issue, Matthews. (But it's another 'yes or no', of course.)

9:26 PM - Romney won colossal points with the base for being the first (to my knowledge) to mention Reid, Pelosi, and Hillary. Finally.

9:29 PM - This is a great question - what they would have done differently than Bush. But they are supposed to answer this in, what, 20 seconds?

9:30 PM - My thoughts, very early: Rudy lost ground, and suffered the most with his answers on questions related to social issues, especially abortion. Romney seemed unflappable, and if there was a winner, he was the guy. McCain held ground, thanks to Matthews, who has a soft spot for the maverick. Huckabee is the best of the little guys, but I hope Ron Paul survives a couple of rounds, just to add variety to the debate.

And now the post-game analysis begins ...

9:57 PM - According to the TV heads I've been surfing, my scoring seems to be in agreement with many observers. I do think, from having heard him in other forums, that Rudy is much better than this debate revealed, and Romney - well, who knows? He might be too slick, he might be the real McCoy. But certainly he'll attract more attention (and criticism) after this debate - especially on the Mormon angle.