Now that was more like it. Seven Republican presidential candidates?showed up Monday night to debate one another at New Hampshire's Saint?Anselm where they looked -- if not entirely presidential -- then at?least poised, collegial, and in command of their talking points.?
All seven managed to express their differences on public policy without?being uncivil to one another, or even disagreeing directly with their?fellow candidates. This was made easier by the their shared antipathy?for the Obama administration - and because their differences are pretty?nuanced: In case there was any remaining doubt, Monday's session?underscored just how conservative the modern Republican Party has?become, whether one hails from Ron Paul's libertarian wing, Michele?Bachmann's Tea Party Caucus, or the mainstream establishment of Mitt?Romney and Tim Pawlenty.
The 2012 GOP field has come in for its share of criticism by pundits and?political professionals for presumably comprising a weak cast of?characters, and one of the debate questioners pointedly asked pizza?magnate and talk radio show host-turned presidential candidate Herman?Cain about surveys showing that many Americans share this skepticism.
"A lot of the people don't know us yet," replied Cain, the only?candidate who has never held elected office. "So as people get to know?us more and more I think they're going to find that really is a good?field of candidates ... the people who know the most about everybody up?here don't see this as a weak field - and neither do I."
Near the end of the two-hour debate, moderator John King of CNN asked?Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, who he believed had made a?better vice presidential selection in 2008, John McCain or Barack Obama.?Momentarily caught off guard, Pawlenty laughed, but then provided a?trenchant criticism of Joe Biden ("He's wrong on everything!") and?spirited support for Sarah Palin.
"I think Governor Palin is a remarkable leader," Pawlenty responded. "I?think she's qualified to be president of the United States. I think?she's equally as qualified to - or more qualified - and would have been?a stronger president than Joe Biden."
At this point, Mitt Romney, the leader in all the early polling in New?Hampshire, chimed in. "John, any one of the people on this stage would?be a better president than President Obama. He has failed on Job One,?which was to get this economy going again. He failed on Job Two, which?was to restrain the growth of government. And he failed on Job Three,?which was to have a coherent, consistent foreign policy."?Romney's assessment pretty much summed up the stance taken by all seven?candidates, which is to be expected from the out-of-power party.
If?there was a surprise, it was the deference Romney received from the?other candidates. The frontrunner often is the brunt of attacks from?other candidates, and four years ago - even when he wasn't leading the?polls -- Romney was particularly singled out for criticism by Republican?rivals who did little to hide that they just didn't like him very much.
Maybe Romney has mellowed in four years, or perhaps this crop of?Republicans is just a more accommodating crew, but if they are harboring?any particular resentment for the handsome and rich former governor of?Massachusetts they did a pretty good job of hiding it Monday night. When?former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was asked about the auto bailout,?he prefaced his reply by saying, "Governor Romney is right."
Later, when John King asked Santorum directly whether he believed Mitt?Romney's conversion from the pro-life side on the issue of abortion was?"authentic," Santorum didn't do Romney any favors, but he didn't?cheap-shot him, either.
King also tried to get Tim Pawlenty to repeat a previous dig he'd made?on the health care plan that Romney signed into law as governor of?Massachuetts -- Pawlenty elided "Obamacare" and "Romneycare" into a?single word - but Pawlenty wouldn't take the bait, even when King?pressed him on it by pointing out that he was standing right next to?Romney.
The tone of the evening was summed up nicely by Texas Rep. Ron Paul when?he was asked at the end what he'd learned in the previous two hours. "A?group here, which disagrees on some issues," Paul replied, "we can talk?about it and be civil to each other."
But if the candidates were, in a way, all pivoting off the frontrunner,?there were plot lines Monday night that had nothing to do with Romney.?Michele Bachmann announced very early in the debate that she had filed?campaign papers to officially become a candidate. And notwithstanding?Pawlenty's defense of Sarah Palin, Santorum's and Bachmann's staunchly?conservative positions on a host of issues suggest that if Palin (or?Texas Gov. Rick Perry) decide to get into this race, they are not doing?so because of any dearth of insufficiently conservative candidates.
Another subplot concerned Newt Gingrich, whose entire senior staff quit?on him last week. He may not need 'em: Gingrich appeared relaxed - or as?relaxed as he gets - and got off several effective one-liners, showing?that he can still think on his feet. Rick Santorum is an interesting?story, too. The last time his name was on a ballot, he was defeated -?and defeated decisively - in his statewide race in Pennsylvania. But?Santorum looked as though he belonged on the stage Monday night, and cut?an appealing figure.
The as-yet unannounced Jon Huntsman did not make an appearance at Saint?Anselm, but John King invoked his name in expressing skepticism about?the current U.S. military mission in Libya, a mission that Bachmann said?emphatically she believed to be a mistake.
Finally, Tim Pawlenty did nothing Monday night to diminish his standing?as a potential top-tier candidate. He isn't polling well just yet, but?he probably brings less baggage into this race than any other candidate.?Last week, Pawlenty issued a budget that envisioned a five percent?annual growth rate in the U.S. economy. This is highly optimistic, to?say the least, and Pawlenty has come in for his share of criticism for?it.
But none other than Mitt Romney had his back Monday night. When King?turned to Romney to throw a little cold water on that five percent?figure, Romney didn't take the gambit.
"Look, Tim has the right instincts," Romney replied. "He recognizes that?what this president has done has slowed the economy. He didn't create?the recession, but he made it worse - and longer. This president has?failed ... and the ideas Tim described - those are in the right?wheelhouse."
It's probably too much to say the night belonged to Romney, but he set a?tone for himself on this evening that eluded him four years ago -?something he referenced in his opening statement. "It's an honor to be?back at Saint Anselm," Romney said. "Hopefully, I'll get it right this?year."
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