GOP Candidates Square Off in Fiery Nevada Debate – 10/18/11

The CNN GOP Presidential Debate in Nevada finished earlier tonight, and it was a fiery exchange between many of the key candidates.

Rick Perry was much better tonight, taking the fight to Mitt Romney on several occasions. Perry hammered Romney for having hired illegal aliens, which Romney said consisted of hiring a lawncare company that had hired illegals. Perry persisted in saying Romney kept those folks working on his property a full year after knowing they were illegal. Romney responded to Perry with a personal swipe, saying he knew Perry had a couple of “bad debates.”

Herman Cain remained strong all night, despite being attacked repeatedly for his “999 Plan.” He responded to each attack with humor, and said the candidates attacking him simply did not know what was actually in the plan. Cain’s worst moment was when he was asked if he would consider negotiating for the release of a U.S. Soldier if captured by Al-Qaeda. Cain had earlier told Wolf Blitzer that he would consider releasing detainees at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a U.S. Soldier. Just now – after the debate, Cain is telling Anderson Cooper he “misspoke” in what he told Blitzer because he simply would not negotiate with terrorists. Unfortunately, this feeds into the attack that Herman Cain is just not up to the Foreign Policy requirements of being President of the United States. But it was wise of Cain to just admit he made a mistake and move on.

Newt Gingrich turned in his usual very good self. Gingrich has a better grasp of the issues that anyone else on the stage. Romney did manage to get Newt by forcing him to admit that he had favored an individual mandate put forth by The Heritage Foundation in opposing HillaryCare back in the 1990′s. Romney was attacked several times on RomneyCare, but did as well as possible at saying it was a state remedy, not something he would ever support as a national plan.

In summary, Perry probably did well enough to stabilize his campaign, and may even move up slightly in the days ahead. Romney will stay where he is, but won’t gain ground as a result of what he did tonight. I think Herman Cain will remain strong, but may lose a little steam. It looks to me like it is settling into a three-man race, with the possibility Newt Gingrich will continue to gain strength, and could become a real factor before it is over with.

What do you think about the debate?

Watch Complete Video of the Debate