John McCain also had a decent night. Other than at times sounding like one of the old men who meet at McDonald's every morning to drink coffee and gripe about politics, McCain may have managed to pull his fledgling campaign out of the doldrums. He was able to talk down to Mitt Romney on an issue in which he had the ultimate credibility--torture. He even won some points with the audience when he compared Ron Paul's attitude to that of those who allowed Hitler to come to power. A poor understanding of history, economics and non-interventionism to say the least...but it was effective. He also positioned himself as the anti-porker, while bashing Giuliani for going to court against the line-item veto.

The night wasn't as good to one-time front runners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. After getting into a pissing contest over who was more illegal-alien friendly (Sanctuary City vs. Sanctuary Mansion) the only thing that stood out was that neither of them were serious about immigration reform. Rudy was hammered by McCain on the line-item veto. He was hammered by Fred Thompson on gun control. He was hammered by Anderson Cooper on the issue of stealing taxpayer money to fund his extra-marital affair, and hammered by a questioner about using 9/11 to catapult himself into the White House. After this debate was over, I'm sure Rudy was wanting to really get hammered.

Mitt confirmed an earlier assessment of mine that he would be much better off selling used cars that running for President. His inconsistencies (flip-flops) were showcased by questioners, fellow candidates, and even Anderson Cooper. However, his constant defensive posture coupled with his complete inability to provide a direct answer did make him rather easy fodder. Poor performances by Mitt and Rudy allowed Mike Huckabee to ascend into the spotlight virtually untouched, save the one comment from Romney when he said, "That's not your money, Mike", in reference to tax-payer funded education. Why didn't he stay on the offensive? Possibly because he was worried about his own inconsistencies when it came to his full-throated support of welfare handouts for farmers.

As for the other candidates in the race, Ron Paul had a decent showing. Other one rant that was completely unrelated to the question asked, he was able to deliver a positive message. He even held his own against McCain in the exchange over isolationism and non-interventionism. Paul was the only candidate who reminded the voters that tax cuts were only half of the monetary solution and that spending cuts were the other. Fred Thompson exhibited living proof that the Mike Huckabee tactics of one-liners, puns, and self-deprecating humor aren't always the best way to go. While he did take some good shots at the three leading candidates, Fred did absolutely nothing to establish himself among them as a legitimate contender. The presence of Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo proved that the possibility of Lou Dobbs running for President would be superfluous. There are already two confirmed anti-trade isolationists already in the race.

As I said in the beginning of this piece, Mike Huckabee won this debate going away. He established himself as the legitimate front runner. The other candidates will have to play catch up to Huck from here on out. Fiscal conservatives hide under your beds. Because if last night's "debate" is any indication of things to come, it looks like another four years of big-spending, social bigotry, and hypocrisy compassionate conservatism is on its way.