Republican's Tuesday Night Fights in Vegas

With Herman Cain tied with Mitt Romney in some polls, Tuesday’s debate promised to about differing policies rather than attempts by third tier candidates to get some attention. Everyone agrees, that what occurred was a fight.

Romney and Rick Perry continued their slugfest with a heated exchange over immigration. Perry reminded the nation that Romney had hired illegal immigrants to work in his home. When Romney tried to respond, Perry kept pressing. An exasperated Romney had to turn to debate moderator Anderson Cooper for help in explaining the rules and getting time for his rebuttal.

Romney followed with a one-two punch of his own. The hook came when Romney said, “We all know Perry has had a rough few debates.” The uppercut was his attack on Perry’s support of the Dream Act.

But the shots were not limited to Perry and Romney. All the candidates took turns battering Cain’s 9-9-9 proposal. Ron Paul pointed out that it would increase taxes on the poorest Americans. Newt Gingrinch argued that Cain’s plan was simplistic and ineffective. Romney pointed out that state and local sales tax would be on top of the 9% proposed by Cain.

Michelle Bachmann, who has made some outrageous statements in the past, took her fight to President Obama. She attacked him on immigration saying, “It’s his aunt and uncle that have had immigration problems,” implying that Obama has done favors for them. She also said that each household pays $1000 to support illegal immigrants, a statement that Politifact.com says is exaggerated and untrue.

Newt Gingrich was the voice of calm for this debate. His answers showed that he has a better understanding of the Washington legislative process than the other candidates. He also gave one of the most memorable quotes from the debate when he said, “I’m a hawk, but I’m a cheap hawk,” when commenting on the defense budget.
Overall, it appears Romney will remain the front-runner. His poll numbers have stayed steady throughout the race. Perry’s vim and vigor was an attempt to regain the footing he lost in previous debates. Herman Cain now knows what it is like to be the target of everyone’s shots. Gingrich may be the real winner. By staying out of the “fight” at the debate, he may pick up the points that Perry and Cain lost.