Pundits are sifting through the tea leaves in the wake of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate. Politico cites eight points learned, including Rick Perry’s strength and Jon Huntsman’s lack of aggressiveness. Here’s the list.
1. Rick Perry is now the clear front-runner. Perry was at the center of attention.
2. Rick Perry won’t apologize for being Rick Perry. Perry made no effort to modulate his language on a range of topics.
3. Michele Bachmann’s window is closing. The Minnesota congresswoman . . . needed a strong performance. She did not quite achieve that.
4. Mitt Romney’s ready to rumble. Romney arrived at the debate prepped for a fight.
5. The Romney campaign thinks it’s found Perry’s soft spot. Romney quoted from Perry’s own book: “By any measure, Social Security is a failure."
6. Newt Gingrich thinks media-bashing is a winning issue. It’s clearly not just a blustery act. Gingrich seems genuinely angry that the media has wronged him and dismissed his campaign.
7. Ron Paul can’t modulate. He did little to move toward the electable center in his debate performance.
8. Jon Huntsman isn’t going to take the gloves off. The former Utah governor simply isn’t going to aggressively attack his rivals or President Obama.
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