Winners and Losers from the CNN GOP Presidential Debate in Jacksonville, Florida – 1/26/12

The final GOP Presidential Debate in Florida just ended, and it was a very strong night for Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

Romney was aggressive once again, and really went after Newt Gingrich early in the debate. Gingrich again did not really seem ready for the hits and did not return fire in equal proportion to the attacks he received. Gingrich needed to land a knockout blow on Romney in this debate, and he just did not do it. He had some good moments, particularly on the need to support Israel, but he did not have a moment to help him recapture his momentum.

I thought Rick Santorum did very well, and actually put Romney on the defensive for awhile on RomneyCare. But Romney handled those attacks as well as he possibly can, and it was probably enough to keep it from doing him any serious harm in Florida. Santorum spoke very eloquently on a number of questions, and gave a great answer summing up the truth that our rights come from the “Creator” as it says in the Declaration of Independence. He further explained that Government does not exist under our Constitution to give rights to Americans, but rather to protect those God-given rights that it has no power or authority to take away.

Ron Paul had some very good moments too. He provided a good contrast to the back-and-forth between Gingrich and Romney, as did Rick Santorum.

Mitt Romney had a lot of momentum coming into this debate, and I suspect he will maintain it coming out of the debate. Gingrich did nothing to derail him, and Santorum is so far back in the polls, I doubt his strong performance here will boost him enough to give him a chance to actually win Florida. In fact, Santorum is not going to be in Florida on Election night, Tuesday, and he is not going to spend money running ads in Florida (he just said that on CNN after the debate). That does not convey that he believes he has any real chance in Florida.

If I had to give grades, I would say: Romney – A-; Santorum – A-; Paul – B; Gingrich – C. Romney and Santorum were “Winners,” Paul held his own, and Gingrich lost by not doing what he needed to do to turn the momentum in Florida.