Huckabee, I think, stood out in this debate as the one who made sense, talked as ordinary people do, and rose above politics. They may have scored. He connected. And that’s a problem for Romney, who would like to become the alternative to John McCain among conservatives who oppose the Arizona senator. But he has very tough competition from Huckabee, who’s forcing people to re-think his run at a time when he was supposed to be out of the game.
But this has always been the way he’s worked: Romney uses money to stay competitive. Huckabee has debates.
From CNN Politics
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Yeah, because CNN deliberately ignored Ron Paul.
Yeah, let's not listen to Dr. Paul, the ONLY ONE that made REAL sense of our failing policies. Ignore the truth, it'll do wonders for your complexion.
Huckabee wasnt the big winner tonight because he got only slightly more airtime than Paul. It doesnt matter what you are saying. Voters saw that Romney and McCain were talking most of the time, that means those are the only two candidates that they think have a chance. Therefore, they will vote for either of them.
McCain is a bitter old man- not a straight talker. I support Romney. Huckabee is just not going anywhere.
Go Romney!
You should be ashamed of yourself. The downfall of America is on your hands as well.
I think it was Ron Paul.
My Tv is now off, Your time to speak the truth is here, You will get back what you put out and its not gonna be pretty
Huckabee? Oh, come on. He can talk, but can he walk the walk?
McCain made me yawn all night and I couldn't understand what he was saying. Romney sounded smart and clear. Huckabee was a straight shooter.
Hmmm! I agree about Huckabee but I think McCain did better than Romney inspite of his tooth ache.
If McCain is so conservative and understands economics why was his campaign going broke last year? Can't wait for the Q4 numbers to come out tomorrow.
Perhaps there would be a different winner if the media wasn't cutting him off after 15 seconds...
Huckabee looked and acted like an adult, not a spoiled child. A.C. did a poor job of moderating and ensuring all had a fair opportunity to give their opinions... but then, this is CNN and fairness is not in the vocabulary.
Bill, I think you hit the nail on the head with this analysis. I am a liberal Democrat and would never vote for McCain or Romney, and as far away from my positions as Huckabee is, I think his style and attitude about the workers of America could sway me from Hilary.
Totally agreed. I've tuned into few other debates. Tonight, Huckabee won me over. McCain and Romney came across as childish and thin-skinned. Huckabee had real ideas, real optimism, and real leadership.
I agree, how about Ron Paul though? Of course media dislikes change. Mike and Ron that would be a great ticket. Oh, watching Romney and McCain argue about who said what for 18 minutes accomplished what? Nothing, I want to know what they will do as president!! Instead they bash eachother and CNN loves it.
Mcain lost my vote and Romney won it. I would say he gained ground. Huckabee sounds like a good guy but thats about it.
The best part about the debate is that you still have to leave the sound on when Ron Paul is speaking, you can't silence the truth.
Governor Romney lost a lot of ground this evening, and the person who can now walk on it is Governor Huckabee. He did VERY well, and I am sure people are clicking on his homepage as much as they are clicking here to voice their views and thoughts. He was the most balanced, and come Thursday will be the most talked about. Rush and Sean need not bash him for tonights performance unless they want to risk their callers going against them 2-1. McCain could have done much better, but tonight is not a good sign for Romney regardless of how much money he has back home.
Schneider stiffs Ron Paul again. Go figure.
And anyone watching knows who the only person cut off repeatedly was. It wansn't McCain, Romney or Huckabee... hmm...
I am going to agree with this one. Huckabee helped himself alot in the debate. He was obviously not going to get any help from any of the moderators, who seemed very clear on not including him or Paul in the debate. I was very disappointed with the debate, but very pleased that 1 of the excluded candidates was able to throw himself back in. It was also nice to see Ron Paul be allowed to make a few points at the end of the debate.
Glad to finally see Romney wipe McCain's face in you-know-what. Sad to see how Anderson Cooper treated Ron Paul. Sure he's a non-contender, but he was on stage.
Huckabee, it's time to drop out and endorse Romney. At least the Republican party would have a chance of being saved from the democrats' favorite GOP candidate.
Look for a McCain, Huckabee ticket.
I agree with what you've said about Huckabee–he clearly won this one–but make no mistake, Ron Paul also gained some ground tonight. You've still got an awful lot of undecideds in this election, and he may have gotten a nice bounce off this debate.
Romney and McCain made several errors this evening, particularly in their juvenile sparring with one another. Neither one came out looking good after that.
That looked pretty obvious from here – just think what he could have done if CNN had given him near the time allotted to Romney! Anybody care to guess what percentage of speaking time each candidate received?