Welcome to the United States of CNN. Basically, the people will have the president that CNN gives them. All the sudden I begin to wonder if this is still the America everyone used to love. Quite frightening, really.

RON PAUL 08.. Stop ignoring the man… afraid he might make the golden boys look bad??? TRUE REPUBLICANS 4 RON PAUL

I agree that Mike Huckabee did an excellent job – when he had a chance to speak. It seemed that CNN had a definite plan to make this debate a "two man" debate, even though you condescended to allow Huckabee and Paul to be sitting there. It is a shame that you do not really want the public to know the views of all those running, and you are trying to, in a manner of speaking, sensor what we actually do get to hear. I'm sorry for that.

Could you imagine McCain dealing with terrorists? God help us.

Susan …. the media ignored Huck and Paul because they know it's just a two man competition. The others are wasting their money and time. They say Huck is staying in just to keep votes from Romney.

If this freak is the winner then America is the loser.

Dearest CNN and media machine:

Last night's debate was not a debate at all but a public forum for 2 childish polititians to squabble with one another over pettiness "you said…" "no I didn't" "yes you did" waaaaaa…..go back to gradeschool boys.
As Romney said, a Governor is the best qualified for President. Huckabee was governor for 10.5 years so there ya go. Huckabee is honest. Huckabee is a voice of the people and not the corporations.
McCain is being set up. The democrats want an aged, unqualified, boring candidate from the Republican party. The democrats know that Huckabee is not only appealing to the evangelicals, but the working man too. Huckabee is smarter than the media gives him credit and will bring interest to many undecided Republicans AND Democrats.
I watched Bush's state of the union address the other night and an sick to even imagine how tired McCain would be as president. Look McCain is a war hero and a patriot, but we need someone to lead the country.

I also was disgusted that the McCain/Romney heated argument was allowed to continue for so much of the allotted time for debate. Just because they are the two candidates currently leading in the polls is no justification for the rude treatment of Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

I agree that Gov. Huckabee definitely won the debate in terms of being articulate and honest, with a record that supports his conservative positions. When one considers that he was a Republican governor with an overwhelingly Democrat legislature, it is remarkable that he accomplished so much in Arkansas during his tenure. I would highly recommend that readers go to his website (www.mikehuckabee.com) to evaluate his true positions and ideas about how to really bring positive change to America. I am supporting Mike Huckabee for President and urge everyone to consider him.

Although John McCain was a POW during the Vietnam War, that does not qualify him to be Commander-in-Chief. He has used his status as a returned POW to feather his own nest. But he virtually abandoned the POW/MIA issue once he got home and has done very little, if anything, to help get an accounting for those whose fate is still unknown. I do not trust him to make the level-headed decisions that are required of the President. The evidence of his hot-headed anger was on display last night.

Gov. Romney has many of the right answers, but he seems to be somewhat evasive and able to "shade the truth" to make himself look better than his opponent, even at the expense of the real truth.

common CNN. didn't like my comment:?. i am sure you have enough room to post all comments. no just the ones that hurt the least. shame on you and shame on anderson for such a horrible performance last night. word of advice. YOU ARE NOT GOOD TO MODERATE IMPORTANT DEVATES. This is AMERICA, IT does not belong to your Believes. be fair with all you puts

The American people lost because CNN would not allow the truth to be spoken. CNN is scared of truth. CNN is corporate media manipulating the minds of Americans. CNN is the same as Faux News Channel. Ron Paul speaks to the people, and the suits are afraid.

Yes I do agree, Huckabee was the BIG winner. I have no idea what would posess
republicans to cast even one vote for Mc Cane. He is a clone of bush. What kind of mess is he. If I was a republican my vote would be for Huckabee. And he is my
second choice to Clinton.
Thanks

huckabee did well. I love this guy as a person but hate him as a candidate. He really is just a sweet guy.

I sure hope T. Rex jumps into the race. That way, McCain won't be the only dinosaur on the ballot. As you can see, I'm quite pro-fossil…

Either way, the McCainosaurus will have my vote. He'll get Medieval on the Axis of Evil! It doesn't matter if it takes 100 years or more! Go McCainosaur, go!

After last night's shameful arguing – not debating…McCain verified why I do not support him. The debate solidified my vote for Mike Huckabee. Mike Huckabee is the only candidate, besides Ron Paul, looking for true change. He kept his professionalism and leadership intact during the debate and showed a strong standing for change in Washington and how he would like to help Americans not just fellow politicians in Washington. Huckabee 08!

I was leaning to McCain til last night. Forget it. I just sent my first donation to Mike Huckabee. McCain was arrogant in the way he kept that smirking grin going. He was staunchly adamant that he would not accept Romney's explanation of the timetable. Even I, a political novice, understood what he said. McCain rolled his eyes at Paul. Paul may not be on the top of the list but the man makes a lot of sense and should still be listened to. I've never "seen" McCain's arrogance until now. I will not vote for him when Virginia's turn comes around. BTW, when did CNN decide for us who are undecided that there are only two candidates.

Samantha,

McCain will not make it if you consider all the comments made by viewers about his smugness and very obvious disdain for all the other candidates. His demeanor is just another dose of what we have been force fed for the past 8 years. We don't need it, don't want it.

He's a flip-flopper, he's not clear on how he will affect change or on his time-lines.

Samantha, I know you are very emotional about your candidate, but he lost a lot of ground here. Sorry.

It was very clear that voting for McCain would be four more years of the same- lies, arrogance and completely ignoring what the American Citizen wants! His immigration policy would destroy America!! He sounds more and more like a left-Democrat.

I am a 22 year registered, voting Democrat who would love to vote for Mit Romney in November. This Tuesday I'm going to vote for the Democrat that would more than likely loose to Romney.

All Republicans that care about American soveriegnty– please vote for Romney on Tuesday. All other votes for Huckabee and Paul unfortunately would only help McCain

Did you happen to notice the other guy? Second from the left? A doctor and member of the House. The only person who runs a platform on following the Constitution of the Unites States. Did you happen to see him? His name is Ron Paul. Why is the media world trying to dismiss him?

Yes McCain will be the nominee for sure, you deal with it David!

Your analysis doesn't include Ron Paul. Did he miss the debate? Did he call in sick? Or are you ignoring him.

Ron Paul is the best fit for the situation our nation is in now. It's just too bad he was unable to get any time to "debate" last night. McCain is too arrogant. It appears as if he has become extremely cocky and it is not appealing whatsoever. I'm sorry, I don't trust him one second to be able to run the country!~

Bill,

Weren't there four candidates in this debate?

Maybe I'm just confused, or you're a moron.

McCain will not be the nominee, that is for sure. Deal with it!

I am voting for Romney because of his positions on issues, but I have to agree that Huckabee had a great debate last night despite his lack of air-time. He was very laid-back and sincere. I felt that McCain and Romney were both trying too hard to say what they thought we wanted to hear…probably because they have more to lose than Huckabee does. Similar to others who have posted, I thought it was rude of Anderson Cooper to ask Ron Paul and question and then interrupt him three words into his answer to move on to the next candidate.

Huckabee won? The man who could not identify what country is on Pakistan's eastern border?

That "debate" was a farce. CNN should be ashamed.

Mr Anderson Cooper,

I think it was a shame how you conducted the debate last evening.
1. The last time I checked there were 4 candidates running for the Republican nomination, and as a impartial orchestrator of a debate, it was your duty to award equal time to all the speakers. You failed in that regard.
2. As the orchestrator of the debate, you failed to co-ordinate the debate so that the audience could get the maximum benifit. You did not stop the bickering that was taking place between Mr McCain and Mr Romney. On the other hand, you did not allow Mr. Paul to express his view points. What Mr. McCain was offering was his usual rhetoric, stuff that he has repeated over and over again. Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Paul were offering radically new ideas, but you did not allow them to complete their thoughts.
3. You should remember that you play a very important role. The public is placing their trust in your ability to enable us to learn about their candidates. I hope that in future you would perform to our expectations.

As Canadians we are very interested in the 2008 Presidential election taking place with our wonderful neighbour to the south. We made an attempt to watch the Republican debate last night and found it frustrating that, for the most part, only 2 of the 4 candidates were pernitted to comment on the issues.

We personally would have liked to have heard much more from Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Paul. In the past we have found Anderson Cooper to be fair and objective. This perception changed with his blatant disrespect for both Mr. Huckabee and especially Mr. Paul. We sincerely hope that they both do well in the Super Tuesday Primaries. Best wishes to both Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Paul.

I am from SouthCarolina and I am not a DEM or REP. After watching the GOP debate on lastnight, My views on Maccain have changed. He seemed to be a little cockey and arrogant.To me , he is Bush#3. He will not bring the DEMS. and REPS. together. All that he has going for himself is the war. I think he and Clinton are in the same boat. If either of the two wins their party's nomi. , I will not be voting in November.

Okay, so Ron Paul does make a lot of sense on certain issues, but you really have to look deeper into the Libertarian stance to realize how really dangerous he would be as President. I, for one, prefer to have an FDA or Social Security to protect citizens from poison meat and provide for retirement. Also, having been a former large business owner, I think the idea of the market dictating political policy is perhaps the most loathsome facet of the Libertarian ideology. There ARE reasons why no Libertarians have ever made it to the level of final party candidate.
That being said, there are many ways in which Ron Paul does provoke meaningful and necessary debate on issues that would otherwise be ignored.

I agree with others, this was supposed to be a debate? If so, it was a two-person debate of McCain and Romney. I do agree with this article that Huckabee came out on top. He needs to get more attention from the mainstream media! He's got 10+ years of experience as governer. He is genuine. He's for change. He's smart. He's a great leader. He's got it all… except more campaign funds and air time. Hopefully voters will be smart and that lack of attention won't matter. As far as Paul, I don't agree with him on most things but give him some talk time or don't invite him. Huckabee won Iowa, came in a very close second in SC and will probably win lots of southern states and maybe even Texas – he should have been given much more talk time. I don't understand all these McCain endorsements from other politicians. Sorry, I respect him for his military experience but overall McCain is old news and washed-up. Remember he tried to run against Bush and lost? And look how low Bush's approval ratings are now. REPUBLICANS NEED A FRESH FACE, and I think Huckabee is the best person for the job. For president, I'm for Huckabee as a first choice and Romney as a second. I'm about ready to just turn my TV off with all this focus on McCain and zero on Huckabee.

Oh! See them run! The most liberal Republicans run to endorse the most liberal of them all, John McCain. Guiliani and now Schwarzenegger! That ought to speak volumes to the Republican Party!

McCain will be the nominee, that is now certain. Deal with it.

For someone who is normally sharp, Cooper and the other 2 panelists did a pretty poor job of questioning the 4 remaining Republican candidates. I kept waiting for one of them to ask McCain "If he would insist the Iraqi government meet certain benchmarks, and shouldn't there be timetables set for each of those benchmarks?" That would have ended the silly "timetable" standoff between McCain and Romney, but I'm guessing CNN chose to let it go since any debate that has a battle of words helps the network's ratings.

I had hoped to hear more from Ron Paul, but the media (including CNN) have already decided who the two top contenders should be in both parties. Hence, John Edwards felt the need to suspend his campaign for president, and all the media seemed mostly concerned about was who he might endorse. They did the same with Richardson.

I was mostly disappointed in the post-debate coverage when Cooper called Clinton's win and celebration in FL a "stunt". Over 1.6 million Democratics voted in the FL primary even though there were no delegates at stake. They wanted to be heard, and 856,944 chose Clinton. That was more votes than any one Republican candidate. This election isn't about what the media wants, or how their "experts" try to spin it. It is about the people who come out to vote, to be recognized, to be heard. Those people should be celebrated, not referred to as a political "stunt".

With Obama, Hilary, McCaine and Romney acting like 2nd grade school kids, I have switched my complete support to Gov. Huckabee. We need a GROWN-UP to run this country. A grown-up who can talk to world leaders.

While I have some disagreements with some of Mr. Huckabee's views, at least he is honest about them. His record as Governor proves he will not force his religious beliefs down our throats and will do what is best for this country. He transcends party lines. I would not be surprised if he offered Mr. Obama the Secretary of State or cabinet position. I trust him to appoint qualified, honest people to positions.

The country is in a terrible mess, and we need real straight talk from an experienced leader. He is inspiring in that he can back up his words with action and experience. The more I see him, the more I like him and, most importantly, trust him to do what's best for the WHOLE country.

All 4 "frontrunners" want the power of the presidency. They all lack the serious multiple qualifications needed for the rough job ahead. Huckabee wants what is best for this country. He can bring us together. I haven't voted Republican since Ronald Reagan. If Huckabee gets the nod (as he should), I will vote for him.

McCain is old, we need someone new who can change things. Not have the same people from the past. VOTE RON PAUL08. WE NEED SOMEONE NEW.

In case anyone is counting, this from today's NY Times online.

Candidate's speaking time from last night's CNN debate:

Moderator-13:05
Mike Huckabee-15:06
John McCain-22:30
Ron Paul-6:52
Mitt Romney-26:27

Was I watching Fox News last night? Seems like their style of fair and balanced.

Confused in America

I too, like many others, was distraught by Coopers actions towards Ron Paul. He is a true conservative, the only one on the board that actually knows how to cut spending. If any other candidate is elected spending will increase, the defecit will grow. Paul could not be any more correct when he says that the US has no money. He is easily the smartest candidate on the Republican side. Thats why I'm voting for him.

Publish my comment already!

The headline should be, "McCain Bombs in Debate." Even Schneider admits it when he says, "I don’t think McCain made many gains – and I think he may have caused people to re-think the race." That IS a big story. The front runner may have caused people to re-think the race based on his debate performance last night.

A vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain. There should be more to a candidate than a few good one-liners.

Why did they ignore the Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul?

McCain is the ONLY GOP candidate who can beat Clinton or Obama. A vote for anyone else in a Republican primary is a vote for a Democrat in November. It seems the McCain haters prefer Clinton and Obama. Republicans need to support the one candidate who can beat the Dems.

"But this has always been the way he’s worked: Romney uses money to stay competitive. Huckabee has debates."

In order to run a successful presidential campaign, a candidate MUST SPEND MONEY. Romney is a far more intelligent, experienced, and uncorrupted conservative than Huckabee could claim to be. The argument about spending money is weak and it shows you have no leg to stand on when criticizing Romney's experience. Maybe you should consider a different career (instead of political reporting)……

Kudos to Huckabee. The debate was to say the least, pathetic. It appeared to be a childish spat between Romney and McCain. It really degraded both of them. Debates are to address an issue being discused, not belittling each other. At least Huckabee addressed each issue asked of him, which I can't say any other candidate did. I hope future debates are more controlled. Especially where badgering or heckling other candidates are concerned. And the other point I'd like to make is that each candidate should be given equal time. After all, every candidate up there is running for president, not just two cackling hens.

Every time I listen to Governor Huckabee I am inspired. I have read all the comments and I see the diversity of America reflected here. There is one thing that Americans are known for and that is an excitement for life and fair play. CNN was shamefully negligent on the last. If you invite someone to debate you MUST treat them with respect. I would never vote for Ron Paul but he deserved as a human being to be heard last night.

Why won't you publish this comment?

The headline should be, "McCain Bombs in Debate." Even Schneider admits it when he says, "I don’t think McCain made many gains – and I think he may have caused people to re-think the race." That IS a big story. The front runner may have caused people to re-think the race based on his debate performance last night.

Anderson Cooper should be fired for what he did last night! After spending all the money to create an atmosphere that was wonderful, he ruined it completely with his VERY, VERY ,VERY, RUDE BEHAVIOR! We stuck it out to the end but three times we where so disgusted with his antics that the Remote was used, there was nothing else on that interested us so we came to the Train Wreck Anderson caused!

We wanted very much to hear what Mike Huckabee had to say!

I agree with Bill. John McCain lost ground yesterday – he came forth as a guy who thinks Iraq is the most important issue on people's minds right now – he didnt come across as a guy who is in touch with today's reality that people are seriously worried about the recession. they want to hear about the solutions for economy as much as IRAQ if not more. Romney did himself good – he was suave and did not loose his cool. But my favourite right now is Huckabee. He is the people's man. He talks sensibly – his ideas are radical – but they are a breah of fresh air in the current show of upmanship and bickering in both the parties.
Go Huck!

It's simple:

John McCain: Stuck in the 70's post Vietnam. War is his ONLY issue.

Mitt Romney: Stuck in the 80's–the "Me" Generation. BMW's and "Preps"

Ron Paul: Stuck in the 30's–(Sorry to all Ron Paul fans.) I really like Ron A LOT, but "Times–they are a'changing."

Mike Huckabee: The only candidate who really gets it. He has a clear vision of the future.

The headline should be, "McCain Bombs in Debate." Even Schneider admits it when he says, "I don’t think McCain made many gains – and I think he may have caused people to re-think the race." That IS a big story. The front runner may have caused people to re-think the race based on his debate performance last night.

This was atrocious. I certainly hope this is not an example of the type of journalism CNN does. If they only wanted a 2 person debate, then they should have told Huckabee and Ron Paul to stay home.

John McCain is dull and lacks the energy to enthuse the Republican electorate. He kept going back to his military service and the Iraq troop surge. Is that all he's got?

Romney I just don't trust. He comes across as a scheister and last night did nothing to allay those thoughts.

Ron Paul is very interesting and says, at times exactly what needs to be said .

By far the most polished and presidentila person on the stage was Mike Huckabee. He spoke to the people and came across as being ardent without the pushyness.

I hope he catches fire in the polls and the other two supposed front runners drop to the wayside.

Quite clear the cream will come to the top. Mike Huckabee definately won this debate and Ron Paul was outstanding even thou Anderson Cooper was partial to the other two candidates.This is now a two man show. Mike and Paul. Hopefully they both can get on the ticket and win . A winning combo that America could live and respect . Shame on CNN for being biased . No more Cooper for me.

All you Huckabee supporters-

Can you please explain to me how you think that Huckabee is a conservative?

Clearly he gets high marks as a social conservative for his strong stance against abortion and same-sex marriage. But his support for scholarships for children of illegals isn’t really a conservative position. Nor is his ducking of the question in the debate last night about children of illegals being citizens. Yes, the Supreme Court has ruled on that, but guess what, they also ruled on Roe vs. Wade and that hasn’t stopped him. Poor excuse. And frankly, his comments on religion

He gets very low marks as a fiscal conservative. He raised taxes- a lot. His plan to stimulate the economy? Build roads??? That sounds way too much like FDR and the New Deal. Doesn’t he realize that the private sector is far better at creating jobs than the government? His constant animosity towards Romney because of his wealth shows he clearly does not understand how a free market economy works and the conservative ideal of work hard and get paid for it.

It is hard to judge how Huckabee rates as a security conservative. His original plan for illegals was not conservative. He has the right idea on Iraq- but because he is tied so closely to McCain he doesn’t get the same attacks on lack of military and foreign affairs experience as Romney. It is easy to say “I’ll meet you at the gates of hell”, it is something else to know how to deal with foreign leaders.

So, in terms of the three legs of Reagan conservatism, Huckabee gets at best a 1.75. He is a great debater, but so was Bill Clinton. The ability to speak well does not translate to having good, consistent policies.

Let us think strategically for a moment about this election. The longer Huckabee stays in the race the better the chance that McCain will win the election. If you want McCain to win, vote Huckabee. If you want McCain to win, talk up Huckabee–say he won the debate if you want.

Why is my last comment still awaiting moderation? I feel like Ron Paul at a CNN debate.

Hmmmmmm

I agree that Huckabee was "the Man" last night. He has been for most of these debates. The only way that Huckabee has a chance, is that Romney backers have to realize that a vote for Romney is a vote for John McCain. There are some Christian conservatives (myself included) that will not back Romney. This is splitting the conservative vote. Why else would Rush and all his buddies candidate not be the conservative candidate? Romney cannot win, but Huckabee can! He can solidify the conservative vote. If you don't want McCain, then you need to wake people up to this now. There's not much time left.

Kristi K. Arkansas wrote:
"I just hope Huckabee (nice guy) gets out soon for our Republican party. He will be taking votes away."

I am writing:
I just hope Romney (Rich guy) gets out soon for our Republican party. He will be taking votes away from Huckabee.

You know you're not a very good Republican when Rush Limabaugh and Ann Coulter come out against you.

But it is nice to see the neocon movement coming to an end.

Bush fired the economic advisor who estimated the Iraq war could cost 200 billion. Now we spent over 1 trillion. Bush said oil revenue would pay for Iraq reconstruction. We were lied to about that. Bush said we would be welcomed as liberators. Another lie. Bush said mission accomplished. Another lie. Bush told us we had to invade Iraq because of WMD. Another lie. No candidate except Ron Paul has described a real plan to reduce the national debt and strengthen our economy.

i watched the republican debate for the first time last night… and wondering why Ron Paul isn't more popular. He made sense when he said the US spent way too much money on the war and the US should focus on foreign policy. And at that point I was also wondering why McCain is so popular… he one war loving devil.

I hope Mccain loses. He cant be the nominee. Hes rude, arrogant, over confident ( from the 2 victories) , and thinks since he was a army guy hes the best to be our president.

He is showing signs of ego just as Bush and look how we are fighting to save our lifes now.

LOSE LOSE LOSE MCCAIN!!!!!!!!!

If I was the republicans, I would seriously consider funding Ron Paul to run as an independent. This will surely secure the election for the Repulicans. Ron Paul is awesome, and I would give him my vote if given a chance to win. Since it looks like Hillary is going to be PASTED by the media into losing the nomination, I can then vote for Ron Paul.

Lets face it, McCain will not beat the Democrats, Romney may, Huckabee although forthright, won't because we don't want another "God appointed" President. We want someone with Paul's common sense, Romney's business sense, and dare I say it a more palatable President. Romney is very Presidential. McCain seems like an embittered old man. He will not win, in the end. Truth be told, even Republican's don't want a war for even 10 more years!

Huckabee belongs to the religious conservative group of the GOP, while McCain is the moderate wing and Romney is the economic conservative of the GOP. Limbaugh, a very conservative, is correct in that the GOP is seriously fractured. If Huckabee withdraws, then the process will be more interesting.

In the general election, McCain will lose on his remarks, "if needed, we will be in Iraq for hundred years" because nearly 65% of the voting population already decided that we should leave Iraq as soon as possible, which Hillary Clinton says for a long time.

If Romney gets the nomination, then he would flip-flop his position and agree with the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, which would complicate Hillary's position.

I agree with this "moderation" fiasco.

I've had three posts that seem to disappear. And no, I am not a Ron Paul supporter.

to Annette: Mike Huckabee would never make a deal with Mitt Romney! Huckabee is a man for whom honor is everything. Romney is a man for whom money is everything. It is an insult to Huckabee to mention him in the same breath with Romney.

I've voted democratic in every election in my 53 yr life. I deduce that out of all candidates in this race on both sides, I only see two who are soundly based in the reality of our current times, & those two are Huckabee & Ron Paul. If those two were on the same ticket, I'd switch party & vote for them!

I see their intelligence rankings as being:

1. Ron Paul, 2. Huckabee, 3. Romney, 4. McCain

This current "Lou Dobbs/Jerry Springer mindset" MEDIA INSTIGATED circus we're witnessing with the Democrats (not entirely their fault because of media) is equally despicable of both of them (although I much prefer Clinton), but even with them (& McCain & Romney), they're too busy with each other to attend to the *most important* issues *to Americans*, *not party*. Huckabee & Ron Paul are, & making the most sense of things too.

Since the Republicans don't apparently like Huckabee or Ron Paul, I would highly recommend they hook up as a team & run on the independent ticket.

We'd be looking at the next BEST prez & vice prez if they did. And to me it doesn't matter which of the two is prez.

Huckabee dosent believe in abortion, he believes in fair taxes, he dosent believe in gay marriages, and he is the best canadate available!

Thanks for mentioning the name Ron Paul in your article…oh wait. Nevermind.

VOTE FOR HUCKABEE!!!!

Are you kidding me? Huckabee needs to hang up his hat and go home. A vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCane….

Huckabee has my vote! I'm getting the word out and rallying around him. GO MIKE!!!

Last night's debate just proved to me and my husband how stubborn and rambling that John McCain really is. He rumbled around alot on the issues (immigration, economy) If I hear the question on illegal immigration again, and all he ever talks about is "Securing the Border first". That is his only answer, EVERY TIME…. He's about as good as Hillary in spinning the questiion. Never says where he stands on the illegals here now.
I'm a conservative and I cannot put my vote with him at all. He is the same old problem we have had in Washington. No wonder every political person seems to be behind him. They are all the same.

After last night, My vote is with Romney…. I just hope Huckabee (nice guy) gets out soon for our Republican party. He will be taking votes away.

The debate proved that Mike Huckabee is the right choice, the only choice, based on the outcome of the debate. I agree with you in how Mccain and Romney stole the night but managed to demonstrate who and what there about in this race to the white house. I was not pleased with the moderation given by cnn employees were they seemed to close in on Mccain and Romney. Mike Huckabee made sence, was clear with his response to the issues, was not wavering with his views, was decent and respectful, showed leadership and strength, was very presidential in character. I hope people saw, the easy to see, difference between the three, eventhough, Mr. Paul gave his best efforts. People and the media seemed to have forgotten that Mike Huckabee was 3% from the win in S.C. to Mccain and if Mr. Thompson would have resigned those 60,000 votes he recieved would have gone to Mike huckabee. The media is in for a rude awakening come Super Tuesday with Mike Huckabee due to there creation of a two man race with the GOP. It showed that exact thing last night and it back fired bigtime….Hilary, if nominated should fear Huckabee the most, heck, her husband even agreed to that saying Huckabee has the most experience and his speaking strength in debating outranks the others and thats coming from Bill Clinton who was a great debater in his time….

Huckabee knows the power of the pulpit. He knows how to manipulate people beautifully. He came off sounding like the sanest one at last night's debate, but he meant to do exactly that, especially as McCain and Romney tried to outfox each other. The more those two quibbled, the saner Huck sounded.

But that was his plan all along.

Never mind that some of Huck's best buddies and supporters include Ken Copeland…the televangelist who thinks God wants him to be rich off the backs of his gullible supporters and who is now under investigation by the Feds, or Bill Gothard…religious extremist extraordinaire who believes that divorce should be banned (sort of like Huck's successful push for "covenant marriage" in Arkansas) and who taught that Cabbage Patch dolls were "the devil". Or that Huck is basically a Christian socialist who wants a religious nanny-state to run Americans' lives, beginning with a Federal ban on smoking. Never mind that he wants to amend the Constitution so that it will be more in line with "God's standards".

McCain is my choice for president. He has the experience, the guts, the courage, the conviction, to hold that job, and he has shown that he's more than willing to work with "the other guys" to get things done. He has my vote…unless he makes the mistake of choosing Huckabee as his VP. Then I'll have to just sit out the election. I can't hang with Huckabee being that close to the presidency. This country isn't ready for a Christian socialist theocracy.

Americans, Do ourselves a favor and do not allow the media to pick whom should be President. In case you did not notice, they were only allowing McCain and Romney to answer any questions. It was a sham. America is better than this.

God bless you, Bill Schneider, for telling the truth. Mike Huckabee has been marginalized and dismissed every step of the way by the liberal and conservative media because he does not have a ton of money. He is clearly the most qualified candidate in terms of intellect, experience, judgment, humanity, and courage. If he were to win, it woukd be the greatest political event since Abraham Lincoln rose out of obscurity to save the nation in 1860. We are at another crossroads in this country's history, and Huckabee is the man that we most need now.

My first thought would be that AC was too prodding and overlooked Huckabee and Dr. Paul, but it was nice to see how Romney and McCain both behaved under pressure. Romney may have come across better on a point-counterpoint analysis, but McCain is more steadfast and believable.

Of course I don't particularly care for Romney's demeanor in general and would only vote for a Rep if BO gets the Democratic nomination (but not Romney).

Bang on acurate Bill. And I say this as a Democrat who's voting for Obama. I used to somewhat like McCain, but last night, he was just stubbornly disingenuous, cantankerous, and actually ugly. Gotta say, though I don't agree with several of his positions, Huckabee did make sense, he was warm and congenial, and ultimately quite believable and likable. Romney, typical politician, but a sight more likable than the McCain BS I saw last night.

PS – I am confounded by the CNN moderation process, who gets posted and who doesn't. It can't be content. Illiterates get posted. Nasty name-calling with no reference to reason get posted. One word responses get posted. Long rambling diatribes get posted. So, please enlighten us caring and frustrated posters. What is the criteria?

I thought that the Republican candidates each personally represented a part of the Reagan coalition, and their appearance together at his library represented its fracturing. We had John McCain representing the big military/ interventionist foreign policy conservatives; Mitt Romney representing the business-oriented fiscal conservatives; Mike Huckabee representing the evangelical/ family values/ cultural conservatives; and Ron Paul representing the small but intellectually independent Libertarians. You could even argue that Rudy Guiliani could be seen as the last of the Teddy Roosevelt large-government Republicans, withdrawing before being part of the coalition on stage.

Mccain reminds me of a slow talking turtle and CNN gave a lot attention to this slow talking turtle. Dr. Paul had the most clarity in what was otherwise resembled a "mine is bigger" type argument. Imagine had he been afforded more time to speak on the issues that affect Americans we could have actually benefited.

Instead Anderson kept doing "360″ spins… trying to start a fight between Mccain and Romney… way to go CNN you only cheat Americans out of gaining perspective on the issues when you petty he said she said before actual substance.

You all better post this because Ive submitted ti over 3 times…

Congressman Paul has never voted to raise taxes.
Congressman Paul has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
Congressman Paul has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
Congressman Paul has never voted to raise congressional pay.
Congressman Paul has never taken a government-paid junket.
Congressman Paul supported Ronald Reagan against Gerald Ford in 1976.

In 1978 and subsequent elections, Ronald Reagan endorsed Ron Paul and supported his reelection to Congress.

###

This is the way I look at it after last night's debate on CNN!

Ron Paul is the candidate everyone is trying to silence. Why is that?

Is it because he:

never has taken money from special interest/lobbyists
doesn't participate in political retirement plan (which isn't social security)
believes in GOLD backed money
smaller government
bringing jobs back to the USA
lowering taxes
making Social Security solvent
believes in our civil liberties
will not vote on anything that takes away from the Constitution

I'm was a democrat leaning toward Huckabee, until last night's debate; I wondered why CNN wouldn't let him speak,then I did more in depth research on Ron Paul..

I haven't seen a candidate like him since Ross Perot! Now I don't wonder why Regan campaigned for him.

I don't know about the rest of America, but I am tired of politics as usual. Making the rich richer, watching my families hard earned money go for bridges to no-where or China. I'm tired of hearing everyday ..blah, blah company laid off 30,000 employees to move overseas! Wake up America, the government is working for US anymore!!!!!

I'm voting for Ron Paul

CNN, what's wrong with the comment that I posted at 8:48 a.m.? It's still in moderation.

I see a lot of others who are frustrated with this format.

I was thinking about voting for McCain until last night. McCain wasted more time arguing about Romney saying what and when instead of telling us what he thinks about the issues. I like that McCain wants to secure the borders first but he never tells us what he is going to do after that. Secure the borders and then give illegals amnesty? I don't know. I was hoping to here some answers, instead all I heard was bickering. I like Romney, but he has been campaigning negatively, something Ronald Reagan never did. If this is how John McCain and Mitt Romney deal with one simple question, how are they going to deal with issues in our nations capital. Ron Paul was shut up every time he wanted to speak. He probably makes the most sense out of all the canidates, but he scares me when it comes to pulling out of Iraq. I Support our Troops and believe we must win in Iraq. So Bill, I thought the debate was unfair to Ron Paul an Mike Huckabee but I do agree with you that Mike Huckabee did win and he also got my vote. Even though the debate was unfair it did show the true character of our canidates.

You can't take Ron Paul seriously eventhough he says some good stuff.
He seems to be too narrow in is approach. He might make a good Treasury Secretary.

Come on everyone, don't you know its the MEDIA that controls who gets into office. Whoever wines and dines them will get the nod. Huckabee being broke could not offer the media anything so he doesn't get the time. Its really a shame that Americans vote not by there concious or convictions, but rather by the political spins put on by the media!
And we wonder why we are in so much trouble. Lord help us all.

Dont let CNN or Fox news or your local tv station or your neighbor influence your vote. Seek it out for yourself on the issues.

I could care less who Mr. Schneider "thinks" won the Republican debate. He and Anderson Cooper showed their colors last night. I was struck by the content free questions. I was amazed on how they lost control of the "Bickertons".

Most of all I saw how CNN wanted entertainment over a real debate. The "Bickertons" were entertainment. The amount of questions asked of them were because CNN wants to keep them running and have the other two drop out. They feel this will be more controlable and fun. No news and information should get in the way.

Will anyone shut Wolf up? He babbles on and on and on and on with nothing really to say. If anyone actually says something interesting he talks over them. Is Wolf afraid of his job??

I guess I will just stop watching. Too much talk and little news or content.

Thank you!

Why does my comment always seem to be "awaiting moderation"? It's innocuous. I suppose no one else can see it when that tag line is above it. With some of the bilge you post, I'm just wondering. This is for you, CNN censors.

Yes, Romney's money is the only thing keeping him in the election, right? Are you implying that the American people are so stupid that as soon as they see an ad on television, they run to the polls to check that box? The real problem is that you media people are so horrible that the real issues and positions are never disseminated. But thanks for CNN's constant flow of "expert" bs opinions. I hope the ghost of Pullitzer never allows you to sleep.

It's impressive to watch a man (Huckabee) rise in the polls to become tied for second in the "Real Clear Politics" national poll listings, and he did it on a shoestring. I'm glad America had an opportunity, albeit brief, to see why he continues to rise above the rest. I hope he'll have enough time and money to educate voters before this primary process draws to an end.

I am appalled at the conduct of the debate last night, specifically the conduct of moderator Anderson Cooper (AC). He spent all his time trying to provoke an all-out argument between Gov. Romney & Sen. McCain, while almost completely ignoring Rep. Paul & Gov. Huckabee.

To AC – this is a democracy. Because a particular candidate has received fewer votes to date than his rivals does not make his viewpoints invalid or less important. This was never more blatant that when AC asked about Pres. Reagan's appointment of Justice O'Connor and cut off Rep. Paul in mid-answer so Romney & McCain could have more time to argue over the same topic of who-said-what about the possibility of withdrawal from Iraq.

One begins to think that CNN does indeed stand for "Communist News Network."

It is however very approproate that the debate was held at the Reagan Library right after a State of the Union address. I remember a State of the Union address from President Reagan circa 1985 when he exclaimed, "the Federal Government is too big and it spends far too much."

Of which of the four Republican candidates does that remind you?
THE REVOLUTION BEGINS HERE – VOTE FOR RON PAUL!!!

PS – to Anderson Cooper – do you understand fair time?, how about the Gold Standard?

Also – hats off to Mike Huckabee for recognizing and citing the 10th Amendment – with he and Dr. Paul probably the only two on the centre-stage who know what it says.

Great analysis of Ron Paul's eloquent contirbutions, particulary his heartfelt plea to return politics to actual discussions of policy and the constitution.

Oh wait, you NEVER mention Dr. Ron Paul. I guess you are part of the machine also. I'm sure reporters everywhere are so proud.

McCAIN: displayed the worst performance I have ever seen in a Presidential debate. His performance will cost him 4-6% everywhere but California.

ROMNEY: took McCain's petty attacks too personally. His performance won't help or hurt him, but McCain's trainwreck will bump him 3-5%.

HUCKABEE: showed some fight as opposed to canned one-liners. He will only benefit slightly-Romney will get most of the undecided conservatives as he is seen as the most likely candidate to beat McCain.

PAUL: actually makes sense on every issue except becoming a reycluse nation. It is unfortunate he looks and sounds bitter. There is enough of that coming from Hillary. The result from the debate for him is +/- 0%. He just does not get enough attention and sounds unreasonable regarding Iraq-the same way Huckabee sounds on taxes.

The winner on content: Paul.
The winner in the polls: Romney.

I certainly agree with Mr. Schneider on the dabate last night. I think Huckabee should be given more attention and more chances to speak at these debates. Last night was a terrible display. The networks should try and be fair to all the participants and they were not fair to Huckabee. He makes the most sense to all of us and our family really support him. I hope he gets a chance to be heard by all the people and not allow people like Romney to buy the votes. Look at what Huckabee has done without the finances of the other participants. I hope the networks start pointing this out. Thanks to Mr. Schneider for his accurate comments.

I would have to agree that I lost a lot of respect for McCain after watching the debate last night. He didn't speak clearly, and when asked why he was qualified to manage the economy his answer was:
"I have the vision and the knowledge and the background to take on the transcendent issue of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism."
Which didn't address the question whatsoever. I understand that he has the military background necessary to help us in Iraq. But what is he going to do for our economy?

And even though I don't agree with Ron Paul on 95% of the things he stands for, I was ashamed that CNN didn't give him more opportunities to talk.

Why the continued silencing of Ron Paul? As time goes on it becomes increasingly obvious that this network, as well as the rest of the mainstream meadia is hiding something… But, good will out, in the end. Shame on CNN, Fox et al for such a horrific display of bias and protection of the status quo… It will not be enough as the truth will always triumph over lies.

Gov. Mike Huckabee can say so much in so few words. It is obvious that he has much wisdom and many years of experience. I believe that the people America are beginning to look past all the political speeches and see a true leader that just wants to serve the people of the United States.

I am a registered Democrat but have voted the other party in the past. After last night's so-called debate, I am tempted again. — thanks to Mike Huckabee. He was the only one that came across as a true Statesman (knowledgeable, polite, alert, courteous) instead of a politician (someone who just wants to be President).
I do have a questions for ALL candidates: Are you still drawing a salary from the people who elected you to your current office even though you have not been performing those duties for months but have been pursuing another job instead?
I sincerely pray (even though the Justices don't agree with prayer) that the Republican party has not totally lost its mind and will select mike Huckabee to be its candidate. I will NOT vote for Obama or Clinton – Obama is too green and Clinton is too greedy.

I wonder if anyone has figured out yet that the media is privately owned. Do I need to say more? Go look at how the news is being reported on every major network. None of it is objective. Every network is trying to 'shape' the election to get bigger ratings and promote selected (cough Obama cough) candidates.

I am extremely disappointed that I tuned in last night to listen to four candidates and only heard responses from two. I was particularliy annoyed when Cooper would cut off a candidate, mainly Ron Paul, allowing him only a sentence or two. I would rather listen to someone who is not focusing on personal tactics and is focusing on the issues that I want to hear. I don't care if McCain has Romney's best friend tagging along on the campaign trail with him. Stop bickering and let those who actually have something useful to say, say it.

Mike Huckabee, like a marathon runner who was kept from running sprinted far from behind to win the debate! He redeemed the little time he was given and did not ramble like the rest. His voice spoke volumes connecting with the people and issues. Huckabee-hands down he was the most articulate communicator and seemed to demand respect and admiration from those who listened. He appeared as the adult modeling humbleness, maturity, integrity, grace and vision. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul gained voter points as they patiently watched the other children bicker and fight like feuding siblings. Now who would you want to run the country, the parents or the children?????????????????

I can’t say this was one of my favorite debates. The Reagan Library might be impressive in its own right, but it looked awkward and distracting as a debate arena.

The questions and follow-ups could have been better. I realize that Anderson wanted to concentrate on the candidates who are considered to be “the real contenders” for the nomination, but I would have appreciated it if he would have allowed Ron Paul more time to speak. It seemed like a two candidate debate. Frankly, even with all of the bickering it was boring. In my opinion Ron Paul was the winner.

If you think there was a lot of petty arguing in this debate wait until tonight's slugfest.

Yes, I too believe that Ron Paul will emerge the nominee. His internet campaign and YouTube will free the electorate from the corporate media.

I also wear tin foil over my head so people can't read my thoughts.

Unfortunately, a vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain.
That's why Huck's still in..to help his pal McCain.
Romney needs those Huck votes to beat McCain.

Mr. Schneider, no one cares what you think. Seriously if your going to declare a winner maybe you should of had a poll after the debate to back it up. Even though Ron Paul was not given a fair chance to speak I bet he would of won the vote after the debate if there would of been a poll. Even Rudy Guiliani said that Ron Paul won all the debates. Hmm why is this maybe its because he is the only one who speaks the truth and answers the questions. You can sit up there changing the subject talking about who did what and who didnt do anything you have to answer the questions and tell the people what you are going to do and how not what you have done in the past. I think it is becasue of that Ron Paul comes out of the debate as a clear winner every time.

Hard to say who won that but I would give it to Romney. Although in the Spin Room afterwards Lindsey Graham made a great case for McCain. He is a real leader who loves his country before his political career, something you can not say about Romney.

Huckabee came across as somewhat angry about not getting time although I would agree with him, and Ron Paul made some good points as usual. I loved Huckabee's final comments about Reagan's optimism though. I hope he does well on Super Tuesday.

Absolutely. Gov. Huckabee shown bright as a star leading us all to Jesus. He is smarter than any of his opponents and the only one with moral fiber. How can people be voting for McCain? Do people not know he was cheating on his wife?? That wasn't acceptable in Mr. Clinton's case and its NOT acceptable of a man even in his past.

McCain hurt himself, he came off to "mean-spirited". This man who claims he is a leader, is just another Washington insider. His answers about our economy, jobs, unfair trade policies, etc. always come back to Iraq? He will not build a wall, favors amnesty for illegals, welfare for illegals, all from OUR wallets, our tax dollars. Look who has announced support for McCain, ALL WASHINGTON INSIDERS who have failed their Republican base and need jobs!
Romney and Huckabee need to unite and bring down McCain and his cronies who don't have the guts to represent us.. The American Tax payers!

Huckabee only won if you ignored Ron Paul. You pundits are so transparently funny. Let the people decide. Stop censoring the debates. YouTube is in the process of freeing the public from your propaganda. Promise.

My Take ! Republican party is in trouble if we put Mcain and Hillary or Obama and Mc Cain. CNN has wagered on this. Mitt won this hands down. Mc Cain needs to realize that it takes much more than his previous military experience to run a country. All he keeps offering is his military service, and heroism. We need experience in leadership and leadership in all areas that are affecting the United States. Huckabee correctly sided with Mitt on their experience to govern. Senators and Congress men and ladies are out of touch with what is going on at the state level and in our country. We need someone like Mitt Romney who is going to Take some of those annual raises that congress approves for themselves and put that money to good use down in the places where its needed the most.

To Melissa: How can you say the Huckster is honest when he pulls the whole "I'm not going to run this ad but I'm going to show it to you anyway"? How can you still consider him to be an honest person when he tries to pull the wool over Americans eyes? The media didn't like that plan, our throat cutting media didn't like that little ploy. Huckabee and McCain are on the same page regarding their honesty.

For the few questions and little time to respond given to Huckabee & Paul by CNN, I would have to give the debate to Huckabee.
It seemed all CNN wanted was a fist fight to erupt on stage between Romney & McCain.

McCain is too liberal, flip-flopping now (just like he says Romney does) on immigration. All I kept hearing is "I was a soldier, I've been in the miltary, I work with liberals (Kennedy, Feingold), this guy wants "timetables". He just wouldn't let the timetable thing go, even after Romney explained his quote and Anderson Cooper corrected McCain. McCain looked really bad constantly saying the same thing over & over & over. Maybe he has Alzheimers or just the beginning stages you know at his age it could get worse quickly.

Personally I'm voting for Romney.

He is a proven leader with a Great Vision….but he actually believes that God isn't just a vending machine…that we just sit in the corner until we want something. And all the candidates believe in God…so please no anti-Christian bigitry.

Our spoiled nation might not be able to accept that.

Mr. Schneider, I totally agree with you about Mike Huckabee's success last night.

The Governor was able (as usual) to express his positions on issues and positions eloquently, yet clearly, even though he received minimal attention from the panel and many of the questions to him STILL had to do with his opinions about disagreements between McCain and Romney.

Viewers who managed to sit through the early parts of the debate (which focused on what Romney has referred to as a "two-man race") saw on display two severely flawed Republicans who cannot defeat Barack's Obama youth and energy, contrasted with a younger, articulate, experienced leader whose ideas and integrity shone through.

Voters are not, as Rush Limbaugh has said, "mind-numbed robots." When they
consider the candidates, putting aside media bias, endorsements, and all the perennial political traditions, they will see that Mike Huckabee has the experience, conservative credentials (socially, fiscally, and on defense), and potential for success in November which makes him an ideal Republican nominee.

Hilarious that Huckabee is declared the winner and the 4th candidate wasn't even mentioned even though he knows and understands our economic and budget/spending problems and was more clear, concise and answered the questions.

Heck, Huckabee would raise taxes more than ANYONE on the stage last night.

Paul wiped butt with Romney and McCain and Huckabee would like nothing less than a theocratic nation. He actually wants to CHANGE the Constitution to be more like God's word.

Bone-chillingly frightening.

I was going to vote for McCain in the primary, but now I am voting for Mike Huckabee. He really stood out of the rest last night. He was above politics and had substance.

I'm sorry, were we watching the same program? I won't even call it a debate…

Romney clearly won, but only because McCain beat himself and Romney is the only other one who got to talk.

HUCKABEE IS A MASTER AT SPEAKING, BUT HE SCARES ME WITH HIS RELIGION BACKING.

ROMNEY WAS THE WINNER, BUT HE IS A FLIP FLOP FLIPPER, SO HE CANNOT BE TRUSTED.

MCCAIN IS A MUMMY, AND WANTS WAR AND IS IN LOVE WITH LEIBERMAN.

RON PAUL IS THE ONE WITH MOST SENSE, BUT HE WANTS TO ABOLISH EVERY PROGRAM.

SORRY, I CANNOT VOTE FOR ANY OF THESE GUYS.

I agree that Huckabee won the debate. Romney did a great job at making McCain look like an idiot.

Ron Paul needs togrow a back bone , it's no wonder people don't take him serious.

I glad someone else watched the same debate that I did. I have seen little talk this morning about Huckabee's positive performance. Even in a debate that was focused on McCain and Romney, he had a very clear and positive message.

On the other hand, McCain’s performance was very disappointing. Many of his responses were difficult to follow and did not answer the intended question. In addition, can he just let the timetable issue go? I think the point has been made, but as Ron Paul said they both agree with the current strategy in Iraq.

Huck may have some far-out ideas but he certainly knows how to connect with people. In fact, at times it appeared that Romney looked at him with admiration. The "preacher" does speak from the heart, which makes him appear more likeable than either McCain or Romney. Few may agree, but Huck has many of the same qualities and characteristics that made Ronny a superstar with the Republican Party. In times of darkness and trouble a nation looks to someone who gives strength and warmness and comfort – not your typical politician.

It doesn't matter, the media has already picked McCain and Obama. No one else's voice or votes(Florida Dems)count.

Mike won that debate hands down. McCain and Romney both lost ground with me. Too bad CNN tried to slight the debate in favor of the two lead candidates by not giving a fair shots to Mike and Ron, your liberal bais shows through again, Anderson I am ashamed of you I thought you were above that but I guess I was wrong, you are a liberal weasel too.

Who's Bill Schneider? And who really cares about his blog entries? If you are interested in the candidates, watch the debates and decide for yourself! This guy's an idiot.

I agree with you. Huckabee really connects with people. He was the winner. Everyone should look at the State of Arkansas and see all of the great things he did for us. Yes, our taxes increased for the road improvements, but I voted for the increase!!! So did 80% of the others (both parties) in Arkansas. Look how nice our roads are now!! Also, we paid a bit more to make our schools go from the worst in the country to the top 10 in the country. The federal government said to "do something". Mike chose what he thought was best, and look how well it turned out!!! I will always choose to pay a small amount more now to help the future of my 3 children who happen to attend Arkansas public schools. They are the ones who benefit from this. He makes decisions based on what is best for all of the people. If you look at the tax cuts he implememted (94 of them) in those 10 and a half years, they more than made up for the few increases. Especially for us everyday working folks. He always tried to do what he could for the common working people of our state, and I truly believe he will do the same for the common working people of our great country.

What a night! For me this years election is all about trust. The dust up between McCain and Romney was nothing short of childish. Romney panders way too much for me. I don't trust him to tell me the truth. I feel he will say what he thinks you want to hear. McCain is an American hero, but I honestly cannot see him as president. I don't alway agree with him, but atleast I feel he is honest. For me the choice is simple. Huckabee is the only one in this race I can support. I feel a president not only has to be a leader, but has to be able to communicate his vision for the future. Mike Huckabee won my support by being Mike Huckabee. I do believe that he can win the race reguardless of what the media is telling us. Your Reagan Special last night confirmed that for me. People forget he was not the "establishment" canidate. Every once in a while we the people actually do have control of what our parties do. I believe this is one of those years, on both sides of the isle.

Hmmm, I seem to remember Huckabee and Paul getting very little speak time. Extremely disappointing "debate", much more like a high school verbal fight between McCain and Romney. I was ready to puke over the waste of time, and Anderson Cooper did nothing to stop the bickering. There were more important issues to be discussing than "he said this about me and it's a lie". What a joke, and to be held in the Reagan complex, that was an insult to his legacy. Today's Republican party has become as low as the Democrats – the party has abandoned me so shall I abandon it.

Huckabee and Romney should make a deal with each, I don't care who's Pres/VP, just do something to save the conservative party.

It's been pointed out in the media that Clinton really wants McCain s the front runner because she knows people like myself will NOT vote for him. Clinton in the end will win.

Oh well…

The debate was a waste of my time. Romney and McCain were given the lion’s share of the debate questions while Huckabee and Ron Paul were nearly ignored. This is disturbing since Huckabee and Paul were the only ones who really connected to the people and discussed actual issues as opposed to the Romeney Vs. McCain tit-for-tat. It left me very disappointed.

The debate was a waste of my time. Romney and McCain were given the lion’s share of the debate questions while Huckabee and Ron Paul were nearly ignored. This is disturbing since Huckabee and Paul were the only ones who really connected to the people and discussed actual issues as opposed to the Romeney Vs. McCain tit-for-tat. I left me very disappointed.

There are still 4 GOP candidates in the race, aren't there? I have read 2 different summaries of the debate and seen 1 sentence mentioning Ron Paul. Many of his ideas are interesting to me and, I believe, very worthy of much broader discussion. I really thought that once this thing got down to 3 or 4 candidates his positions might get a little more press…hmm

It's a shame that 4 presidential candidates were invited to the debate, and then 2 of them were ignored for 80% of the evening. CNN should try to give equal time to each candidate. Despite having only a few minutes to speak, Mike Huckabee proved again that he has a firm grasp of the issues and is very well qualified to lead this country as president. And, in addition to that, Mike Huckabee showed his character last night as he showed great restraint and patience in a very unfair situation, and listened respectfully to the comments of the other 3 candidates. Every time I hear him speak I'm more convinced that Mike Huckabee is the best choice for president in 2008.

I think its sad that nobody mentions Ron Paul. I think Ron has the guts to say what all the other candidates WANT to say, and what they know is the truth. His mention of what the CONSTITUTION says and what we are doing/debating/thinking about doing with regards to our county, is undeniably accurate. Now, i don't believe its possible to withdraw all of our forces from around the world, but Ron Paul is 100% correct that our federal government is out of control, be it spending, declaring war without a congressional declaration of such, "controlling" the economy, etc.

Ron Paul may be made to look like a looney, but that's only because the other candidates don't want to admit that essentially Ron is correct, and he is the only candidate who has a strict constructionism view of the way the Fed Gov't should interpret the constitution.

I think it is silly to think Gov. Huckabee truly won this debate. Was he even there? And to address the comment that he talks like real people do, it is easy to appear like the calm and collected individual when nobody really cares if you are there. He is not asked challenging questions because the media wants him in the race. He only hurts Romney by sticking around, and liberal media love to see McCain leading the pack. Let's be honest; it is a two man race- Romney/McCain.

CNN typically leaves Ron Paul out of the picture. This is yet another example of bias reporting. Shame on you CNN. Just look at the Political Ticker Categories on the right of this page. No articles on Dr. Paul. Not one. This election has been bought and sold.

I give it to Huckabee. He was extraordinary last night. A pity he is trailing in the polls. What a loss for the republican party.

Bill,

Did you know there were FOUR candidates debating last night. Or trying to. Why does CNN focus on the bickering and nit picking. If you would give Ron Paul a chance, he'd blow them all away.

Why is the media shoving candidates down our throats????????? I used to think that at least CNN was fair, but I'm doubting it now.

I was very disappointed in how the questions were mostly directed to McCain and Romney. I believe all those participating in the debate should be given equal time to answer all the questions and not be excluded or rudely be interrupted and told they would come back to them and then didn't.
It was clearly shown that Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee were being excluded. However, I was very impressed by the times they were asked they were able to make their points. Especially thought Mike Huckabee was great letting them know he was still in this race too! Go MIKE!

Could not agree more with Bill Schneider. As the Republican base takes the time to inform themselves about McCain, they will discover that he is a Democrat in sheeps clothing. He is what conservatives are not; and the endorsements of liberals like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani will not further his cause. Unfortunately, Romney has been painted as a rich Morman- two things that many people either don't like, or do not understand Huckabee, on the other hand, has consitantly driven his moderately conservative values from the get-go, and that will resinate with the voters. I look forward to a Huckabee-Obama race. It will be a refreshing change of pace.

Vote for the one guy that has VALUES!!!! and that is Huckabee. McCain has been there for 25yrs, what is new that he can do now. People stop getting fooled by all this do nothing Politician. Ain't you tired of there lies. What will it take or Americans to wakeup that this people all they care about is there positions.

Mr.Schneider:
I am a life-long Democrat who likes to see where both parties stand on issues so I watch both sides debate. However, during last night's debaucle, I was as close to turning the whole thing off and slipping in an old movie as I have ever come. After seeing Anderson Cooper's treatment of Ron Paul I was totally insulted. Even though he is a lesser candidate he is no "less" important than anyone else on stage. He was cut off at every turn and his answers were limited to one sentence or two at the most. It was clear to me at least that Cooper was trying to steer the two main rivals,McCain and Romney, into some sort of confrontation that never quite materialized. I suggest you find a moderator whose leanings are not quite so pronounced or whose plans are not so obvious. I personally do not intend to vote for Mr. Paul but for those who do, I would feel terribly insulted and unimportant. Pushed aside and unrepresented by a manstream media that, while priding itself impartiality, has made itself the decider of the next election. I agree with your comments about Huckabee during the debate but I wonder if the dynamic would have been changed any if Paul had had a chance to speak too.

I thought McCain not only sounded petty, he appeared bull headed enough not to notice how silly his comments were concerning the issue of the enemy waiting in the weeds until we leave. This comment, made by Romney at some earlier time, only solidified his position of not giving timetables. McCain appeared unable to hear or understand this, even when he repeated it himself. McCain seemed unable or unwilling to listen to Romney or Anderson. Anyone unwilling to listen to points of view different from his or her own, definitely does not belong in the White House. I am not a Romney fan, however McCains inability to see, or hear, the irony of his own words is very frightening.

Thanks for the kind article. We agree!
Mid Missouri Meetup for Mike Huckabee

They say cream rises to the top and the more I learn about Huckabee, the more I believe that he is the best man for the job at this point in time. The problem is he is short on two important things right now: time and money.

I wish to could support Huckabee. I loved his presentation last evening, but several of his platform ideas, patricularly regarding taxes, send me to McCain. I do think the guy is honest, straighforward and sincere just like Barack Obama. McCain I can support, but Romney send me to the remote for the mute button.

Bottom line is I hope Huckabee stays in the race and has a good showing on Tuesday as he's earned it.

Mike Huckabee is far from being a winner. All he has succeeded in doing is splitting the conservative vote between himself and Mitt Romney. The result is invigorating the liberal wing where candidate Rudy has aided McCain by giving him an endorsement which will be seconded today by Arnold who is more left wing than many Democrats.

Unfortunately, McCain is unelectable in November as his conservative appeal is non-existent. Furthermore, he is 72 years of age and holds as much appeal to younger voters as does Fred Flintstone.

Perhaps a deal has already been worked out to put a McCain / Huckabee ticket on the ballot in November and thus Huckabee is only still in the race to split the conservative vote to ensure a McCain victory. How short sighted, as I for one, who has always voted Republican, will be very tempted to cast my ballot for the first black candidate and signal a change to the blatant abuses in Washington.

I have to say that after the Clinton / Obama arguement on the Democratic debates MLK day, McCain and Romney would've learned that the American public is tired of the mud slinging. I am tired of the press and media deciding for us, who is the more important candidate in these debates. It was evident in the Democratic debate where Mr. Edwards couldn't get a word in and it was evident last night. The problem with some of the candidates having a poor showing in the polls is not because they don't have supporters..you never give them the opportunity to respond to important questions so we have no idea where they stand on the issues. Both Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Paul were cut off from responses several times. They gratiously waited to be called upon. I applaud Mr. Huckabee's comment about the gentlemen at the other end of the table being there also. The debates are out of control…what ever happened to the time limit on response and rebuttal? To Mr McCain and Mr. Romney …I say Bad Form gentlemen.

I fully agree. I did not enjoy it when Romney and McCain started to bicker. It just not fun to watch, and I doubt that will get them any votes.

This was the first republican debate I've watched, and I was pretty disappointed that Ron Paul kept getting shafted on airtime. I didn't really know anything about the guy except that he seems to have an intensely loyal following; honestly I thought he was just some nut job who got people riled up. He changed my mind tonight. Watching the debate, he only got about 5 minutes (or less) of time to talk, but made more sense in that short time than any of the other candidates. At one point Anderson went down the line asking all the candidates the same question. He cut off Ron Paul halfway through his first sentence! then proceeded to let the other candidates explain their positions. Then all the debate "analysis" completely ignores him. Horribly biased coverage.

I know a vote for Paul is probably a waste since he doesn't poll higher than 10% anywhere, but I think I'll do it anyway just so I can live with my vote.

So Bill, there were only 3 candidates on stage last night? From CNN's "reporting" that's what it looks like.

I agree on the winner. I look at these debates differently than most people so the text of their messages was not all that important to me. After the debate I concluded there was one debater, one intellect, one old vet who still can not forget our previous failures in Korea and "Nam" and a rich kid who thinks his money can buy anything. What is important to me is the percentage of votes each is going to get. Yes, the numbers will tell me the present make up of the population as well as the literacy of the people empowered to choose our leaders. At the moment I think it is We, the people, who are to blame for the sad "State of the Union" and my only advice is for people to realize you do not need a fox to guard the hen house before casting their vote.

Bill you are right on the money as usual. Clinton/Bayh 2008 is the winning ticket

Huckabee the night's big winner … you are kidding right? You news guys need to understand that the voters aren't influenced by a single debate but by the stand the candidate has made on the issues. Huckabee is set to be the next candidate to quit the race. Mark my words.

Huckabee was by far the best candidate on the stage last night. Given the minimal amount of time that he was given, he used it to his advantage, speaking directly to the American people in a clear concise way they would understand. McCain and Romney's bickering showed what has been happening in Washington for the last several years and why nothing has been accomplished. Huckabee's 10 1/2 years as a governor shows that he has the ability to handle a multiple array of issues at one time and make good decisions that positively affect the people he governed. Go to mikehuckabee.com to learn more about Huckabee's vision for the future and his stand on the issues.

Huckabee and Paul were the only ones who new America wasn't better off today versus eight years ago.

The way the media/CNN/AC ignored Huckabee and Paul, I am surprise anyone knew they were there.

Ron Paul does the best in answering questions about the economy, the dollar, and foreign affairs.

However, if Hillary is the Dem. and Huckabee is the Republican candidate, I will probably vote for Huckabee if the Election was held today.

If Ron Paul is the Republican candidate, I would definitely vote for him against Hillary.

Thumbs down for CNN's last night debate.

Hi,
I think that it was obvious last night that Huckabee was the winner. He is clearly the best candidate for the nomination. If only he had tens of millions at his disposal like the others! Then he would probably be ahead of both of them in the polls. I especially liked his respect to Ronald Reagan in his answers about the justices and who Ronald would endorse. God bless Mke Huckabee!
-Matt from MN

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way the American political process works if at the end of the day, we are looking at the best person for President but because of lack of funds, lack of media attention or whatever else works against these candidates, we end up choosing the wrong person.

This is truly sad for the American people who end up being the biggest losers.

There is no quetion, that despite giving Mike Huckabee less time, he really did well. His answers were not the particular comments that have been used over and over by politicians. The McCain vs Romney spat showed that John McCain is relying on his efforts to be a moderate on a lot of issues and plays up the Iraq war/foreign policy experience. I don't think that either man looked very good during the lengthy exchange, but partuclarly McCain. We started to see the old angry man of 2000 which he has sought to cover up.

Huckabee should and will do well in the South after tonight's debate. I really do think this is a race between McCain and Huckabee with people having to decide who is the one that best represents them: amoderate or a conservative. Mitt can stay in the game but he will have to pump another trillion dollars into advertising which he has, leading up to last night's debate, NOT DONE. he is a smart business man- you don't throw good money after bad.

P.S. Why did they invite Ron Paul? If he has 3% support nationally, then either DON'T invite him or, if you still do, let him have a chance to speak. The moderator lied to him by saying,"We'll get back to you, I'll promise" and then leaves Ron Paul (and Mike Huckabee) out of the debate for 30 minutes. How sad and disrespectful.

After listening to the Republican debate last night, I think it was very clear why many of us support Mike Huckabee. He is the only candidate who has the executive experience to be our next president. The media has acted as if he is out of the race, yet he was the only candidate who had the big picture of how to deal with our sagging economy, the defense of our nation, and our exit strategy in Iraq. He speaks clearly about his objectives and communicates better than any other candidate. Even though the debate hosts like to get arguments going, the time wasted debating semantics was deplorable. Why not get on to more important issues? There were four men on that stage, yet, again the focus was on the ones who wanted to sound like a couple of siblings at the dinner table. It's time for some new leadership that doesn't buy its way into office, but represents the average American who works hard and pays way too many taxes to Washington.

Huckabee is the only sensible one. He answers with conviction and clear points. I get so frustrated that they talk about a two man race for the Republicans. If it was really a two man race it would be between McCain and Huckabee.

What about the ever ignored Ron Paul? He was there, too, you know. I would like to hear opinions on all of the candidates, not just the "front runners". As stated by the CNN poll on the front page, 35% of voters are still undecided. Undecided voters who chose at the last moment are more likely to pick a name they hear often. What names do I hear often? (In order of frequency) Romney, Huckabee, McCain, Giuliani, Paul. It would be ignorant to suggest that the overwhelming coverage of the first three candidates does not swing undecided votes in their favor. So, please, consider a more balanced representation. I understand that this is a debate recap, and Bill Schneider is simply summarizing the "highlights". However, if you are willing to comment on the downfalls of one candidate's performance, then there is plenty of reason to acknowledge the successes of another.

I think the debate last night revealed that Mike Huckabee should be taken seriously as a front runner in this Presidential race. He is sensible, patient, and a great communicator. His record in Arkansas makes the case for someone who truly knows how to run a government and has proven results of being one who can get things accomplished.
John McCain's slogan is "straight talk", but I don't think the Senator always talks straight. Mit Romney is a great business man, but I think he will always be a victim of his changing of positions. I think the way he has spent money during his campaign when compared with the results that spending has achieved proves that he may not be as good of a fiscal steward of the peoples money as one might think.
Huckabee should be taken seriously as one who has done very well in these debates even though he is not given near the time to speak as the other front runners. Message over money. His response at the closing regarding Reagan's endorsement was by far the most humble, yet revealed his solid understanding of President Reagan's legacy and his guiding principles that made him arguably the greatest President in modern history. I think I saw tears in Nancy Reagans eyes as Mike spoke. Huckabee is the overlooked true Reagan conservative in this race.
The GOP base will make a huge mistake if they overlook Governor Huckabee.
P.S.- He is the only one running who has run against the Clinton machine more than once and won!

Hey fellows…. there were four guys there last night and CNN showed how inept they are at hosting a real debate between folks of some what differing views. I didn't give much attention to Ron Paul until he started telling the truth last night. That's probably why AC didn't allow him to speak a lot. You guys really dropped the ball. Don't insult us American people who want to hear from all the candidates… not just those who you have annointed ….Take one minute an dlisten to Paul and then decide

I am a huge McCain supporter and I agree that Huckabee looked liked the strongest candidate following this debate. The primary issue is whether or not he is too far behind to make a big push. I am definitely rethinking my choice following this debate.

I disagree. I think Mitt Romney is easily the strongest candidate.

Go Mitt!

Mcain seeing the nomonation close is compromising his principles just to get elected and it sounds petty. I would be affraid to have one like him as a president.

Huckabee is a joke in this race!

I agree with your article and i would very much like to hear more from Mike Huckabee. The debate did not help me make a decision.

What planet is Mr. Schneider on? Mr. Huckabee is a nice guy, very articulate. However, his candidacy is irrelevant. He's going nowhere. All Mr. McCain had to do was adequately defend himself and not mess up. He did both things well. Geesh, "the best political team on television"? Give me a break!!

Stop being biased Schneider! Romney clearly won.

Mike Huckabee won this debate clearly! He is going to shock the pundits on Super Tuesday!!

Why McCain is sticking to this Romney-timetable crap is beyond me. He is obviouly trying to twist something and after I listened to the whole statement, it made McCain look very typical politician. I had thought McCain showed some promise in '00 but this time he comes across as a warmonger and an angry old man and a shmuck And as I posted before, it is telling when a man who calls himself a leader is taking his lead from another candidate as far as the tone of his campaign. Sounds like a follower.

Well………….DUH!

If anyone has watched the debates and LISTENED to what the candidates are saying rather than :30 second commercials and soundbites. Gov. Huckabee is the people's best choice!

To Senator McCain. I am all for working together in Washington. But NOT on crushing my 1st Amendment rights (McCain-Feingold) or allowing amnesty (McCain-Kennedy) or continuing to allow filibustering of justices (the 'gang' of 14) and not in voting against the Pres. Bush tax cuts (twice) and not to mention the death tax.

And Gov. Romney? Why did you not run for reelection? At least the folks for Huckabee and McCain kept sending them back to office!

Come on Super Tuesday states! Deliver the boost Huckabee needs!

Great write-up…however, I am shocked to say the least! Shame on CNN for already selecting their final 2. That is certainly how it appeared last night. I cannot begin to tell you what a disappointment last night's debate was. Worst one to date! I have never seen anything so two-sided in my life. I know you all are as far left as it gets, but come on, I felt like I was watching a Democratic debate last night. Hate to bust your bubble CNN,but the Republican race is still wide open. So as an American, I beg of you to please do the right thing…show all sides and allow the American people to see,that there are BETTER options out there…not just the crummy ones that CNN presents to you. Honestly, you all should have to reimburse Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul for even being there. Oh and next time you host a debate(let us only hope that never happens), maybe you should have a moderator that can actually control the situation. It was rather sad watching your boy, Cooper Anderson, lose control numerous times during his own debate! Fine job CNN-you should be ashamed! Kudos to Governor Huckabee for showing us all what true grace really is!

Cooper presided over the Mitt & John (dog and pony show). I refuse to watch any segment that cooper is involved in after this. There were 4 candidates at the debate but we saw very little of two of them. This was unfair to all voters. We need the views of all the candidates to make an informed decision on who we will have lead this country. Who do we want with their finger on the weapons button.

Hey Schneider, you can have any opinion you want about how the candidates did at the debate last night, but have the decency to report on all of them. Not one word about Ron Paul in this entire piece. It's easier to ignore a candidate when there are ten of them onstage, all fighting for the spotlight. There are only four candidates left on the GOP side now, so how about some responsible reporting?

McCains straight talking express had a big accident. He didn't tell the truth.

I'm a Democrat, and I like Mike Huckabee, while I feel McCain is too embeded in the war, and I'm not sure I trust the too-smooth Romney. If it came down to it, I could vote for Huckabee.

Shame. In such a bias, debacle there can be no clear choice. The disgusting bias shown by CNN and Anderson Cooper dealt a serious blow to the delicate nature of Democracy and free society in America. Shame.

Republicans have a candidate who can win in November. Mike Huckabee is not an "alternative" candidate to McCain or Romney. He is the real leader who you can vote with conviction as the best man to be President. Study his platform and listen to his speeches available on his website and YouTube. You'll scratch your head wondering why the Republicans have not embraced him as their standard bearer from the beginning. If America is thirsty for another Reagan, Mike Huckabee is the man. He's principled, optimistic, and speaks eloquently from his heart of the greatness that the future holds for our great land. Super Tuesday voters listen up. Vote for Mike Huckabee!

He is a proven leader with a Great Vision….but he actually believes that God isn't just a vending machine…that we just sit in the corner until we want something. And all the candidates believe in God…so please no anti-Christian bigitry.

Our spoiled nation might not be able to accept that.

I agree that Huckabee did a good job last night, but I think it was TOTALLY DEPLORABLE and unacceptable and BIASED on how the moderators treated Huckabee annd Ron Paul. The blatant EXCLUSION of these two intelligent FINE men was disgusting and Anderson Cooper should LOSE HIS JOB. Anderson was downright RUDE cutting Ron Paul off and promising him more time to speak, then not allowing him to do so. I was a total Huckabee fan, but Anderson Cooper has MADE me go and research Ron Paul. I felt there had to be some reason he was being IGNORED. I LOVE what I am reading and will now vote For Ron Paul. He is BRILLIANT and is TELLING THE TRUTH, not just tooting his own horn like Romney and McCain. THEY ACTED LIKE TWO SPOILED CHILDREN LAST NIGHT>>>IT WAS DIGUSTING

I agree 100%! Gov. Huckabee sounded like an adult speaking to other adults. He was calm and stuck to the points. Both Sen. McCain and Gov. Romney sounded like two children fighting in the sandbox! And I am seriously concerned about who to vote for – we don't need a two year old in the White House.

Bill,

I appreciate your honesty in this article. I think Huckabee did stand out in this debate. It's to bad that A.C. and CNN wasn't fair in their allocation of time. Huckabee got about 1 minute to each 5 minutes Romney and McCain got.

Why is CNN always so biased in these debates. Than again you don't claim to be the FAIR AND BALANCED NETWORK do you. It shows.

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE….they all favor tax breaks for the rich, promise everthing and deliver nothing. republicans are bankrupting our nation. at least democrats tax the rich, gop always does the "debt and spend" approach.

You know, silly me, I thought there were 4 candidates there last night, even though the whole debate featured 2. The winner I thought was Ron Paul, and that takes a lot for me to say since I am a Democrat. He makes the most sense on the Republican side. He gets no respect in these debates. I hope he runs as an independent, because I am not happy with either Democrat, or the remaining Republicans other than Paul.

Shame. In such a bias, debacle there can be no clear choice. The disgusting bias shown by CNN and Anderson Cooper dealt a serious blow to the delicate nature of Democracy and free society in America. Shame.

You were right on about Huckabee. I have liked him best since the first debate I watched. He is sincere and honest and I was upset that he was not asked more questions at your debate so others could see what a smart, down-to-earth man he is. Thanks for your nice comments about him. Sincerely, Pat Estes

I agree.

Huckabee is Reagan 2, and humble enough not to say it.

I missed the debate, but I was around when Reagan was in office and he wasnt the best President as far as I am concerned, so if anyone uses him for a reference, that cant be all that gooooood!!!!!!!

I decided to vote for Huckabee on Tuesday. His performance at the debate was great. Did you see Gov. Schwarzenegger whisper to Nancy Regan, " I like him." –in regards to Huckabee. CNN didnt seem to mention that during their post-debate talk.

If government is broken, it might be caused by your shallow empty debate.

I hope you ratings are up…you pandered hard for them.

I hope your bonuses are up….you sold your journalistict integrety for them.

Chuck G.

the debate was disappointing. you ignored the very crucial issues raised by congressman paul. his topics are what the mainstream politicians wont go near. the only man who shows that he understands that our freedoms and standard of living are dependent upon sound monetary policy and not just global supremacy. Why they will not address this is very telling. None of the candidates will improve the SWAMP which is american politics.

Ron Paul helped his case. He continues to give the facts. We spend money like crazy overseas, fruitlessly, and print more money, that has no value, or borrow money from rogue countries to fincance our lunacy. We then wonder why our economy and dollar are failing. Bring the troops back, defend our borders here and take care of business by eliminating the Fed and IRS. Watch us grow then.

Ron Paul 2008

Huckabee is hanging around for the free exposure from the debates. He couldn't handle is finances so he needs a free ride. Possibly looking for a post somewhere later on down the road.He has nothing to lose and continues his comic relief.
As far as that LYING Washington insider,well that says it all. McCain is just that! If Regan was at this debate ,his line for Mccain would have been,There you go again. If he's a war hero that makes over a million other men heroes that have actually done something.. He's done nothing for any of the service people that served in Korea,or Vietnam.McCain's 26 years of failure. This devil is no more than a front for other washington insiders. Observe where the support is coming from-all the other insiders: congress people, senators, and of course the biggest Murdoch media mogul. Notice how most of the large newspapers around the country are backing this DEVIL.
I would like to know why Anderson never asked for a clarification of any of McCains answers. He didn't answer one of them and CNN let it go. SHAME on you!
Romney answered every question to the point, agree or not. Voters know where he stands.He is the candidate that is "straight talk." He is an outsider like Regan was and is the ONLY one running that will make a difference.

I disagree to some extent. I felt that McCain did fine. In particular, his response to Romney's remark about the New York Times endorsement. That McCain stayed relatively calm, whereas Romney and Huckabee (on occasion) got "worked up", also helped to make McCain appear more able to discuss, rather than preach.

Last nights debate reminds me of Hillary "McCain" and Obama "Romney". I agree that Huckabee won last night. Ron Paul did not get a chance to talk.

The more I hear McCain and Romney the more I like Huckabee.

Texas

Actually, I don't think there was a clear "winner", but the loosers was the entire american public that watched the debates. CNN has the remarkable opportunity to help shape this country through these debates. And what does CNN do? They deliberately bate two candidates against each other on one STUPID issue of who said what. California's Gov. Schwarzenegger was absoutely correct when he chastized CNN for not bringing up important issues such as health care, our image in the world, our crumbling infrastructure, and illegal imigration. Shame on CNN!

Romney won hands down!
McCain looked like the nasty old man he is!

Ron Paul participated in the debate as well, you know. Would be polite if you mentioned him at least somewhere in your article.

Romney and McCain showed, once again that they are giant wind-bags, and the moderators were either completely intimidated by them, or were merely shouted down by McMotonous and Romandonandonandonmny.

McCain is a ticking timebomb. Why do we want his finger on the button?

Huckabee the spoiler?

Bill, the only reason you are pushing Huckabee is that you know he would be the easiest one for the dems to beat.

I agree with the governor of California, many important issues were not discussed because the questions were so banal and designed to encourage bickering. I am sure the American people were as disgusted as I was.

Mike Huckabee did indeed set himself apart from McCann and Romney. Huckabee stayed on topic, it was sad that the candidates weren't given any meat in the questioning. It was so obvious that the moderators considered Huckabee and Paul as unworthy of attention. I would expect more professionalism from the CNN team.

My daughter supported McCann, but after his performance last night she is rethinking this decision.

It was very dissapointing to have two canidates spend so much time on squabbling and not be able to hear all four canidates views. I will have to agree with Ron Paul there are a lot more important issues than to listen to two canidates repeat the same answers over and over.

undecided voter

tom
Indiana

HUCKABEE for PRESIDENT 2008!!!!

Huckabee did do well as far as being a likable guy, but didn't do to well in showing that he's ready for President. McCain is a lose cannon. He's better off being the joke of a Senator showing up on Saturday Night Live and Vince Vaughan movies every now and then.

I only wish Huckabee and Paul had been given enough time to express their views. They made more sense than the other two, when they managed to get in a word.

Romney made Huckabee look like an idiot, in a polite way, by telling him why building a highway would stimulate the economy, but not until 2012! As Romney pointed out, to get that project going it would take a lot of time, we need something to stimulate the economy now. Unless you're playing favorites, you will have to agree that Romney performed the best. Even the undecided voters on the dial meter that CNN picked were most impressed by Romney. Now an honest thing that you could say to make Romney look bad is, he probably didn't do enough. But as far as this debate and pretty much every other debate, Romney is clearly the strongest. He just has too much stacked against him, existing politicans, he's mormon, he's rich, and all the people who are owed favors by the existing politicians. Probably why he's not getting very many endorsements right now b/c clearly, Romney is the smartest one out there. He uses specifics to show what he'll do and knocks things down that won't work like the highway idea.

Agree that McCain did not do well at all, but disagree that Huckabee looked much better, at least to anyone with a grasp of the issues. The fight right now is between the Romney and McCain. McCain must convince the thinking side of the party (and independents that will still even consider voting for a Republican) that he aligns closely enough with their beliefs and broad direction of where policy solutions should go (or, in some cases, staying out of the way). McCain missed the opportunity to look in Romney's face and tell him that he (McCain) isn't worried about being completely "mainstream" (a word we heard many times last night). Unlike Romney, who will always be mainstream and blow with the fickle winds, he will follow his largely conservative convictions where they lead. That was the point he was trying to make on Iraq; while Romney straddled the fence and hedged his bets, McCain stood alone and at risk to support a cause (victory in Iraq) at his peril. Yet, when his views are out of line with with the broad will of the people (as in immigration), he will work with people of conscience to find acceptable solutions. He missed huge opportunities to "be McCain" and highlight why Romney is not a good choice for the nomination.

Agreed, I haven't decided who to vote for yet, but McCain lost ground with me last night. He stuck to the same catch phrases all night, "timetables was the buzzword" and "foot soldier in the Reagen Revolution." He came across as whiny and petty. Huckabee made me think long and hard about what we want in Washington, and I agree with both him and Romney, that a governor is better prepared to become President.

I think that Ron Paul comes across as the most intelligent and well-rounded candidate.

It is clear that he understands the economics, social, and environmental issues. And he seems the only candidate capable of constructing a new direction that could actually address these issues.

Thank God someone noticed Huckabee. In spite of the disproportionate air time, he had a superb performance. I counted the number of opportunties each candidate was given to speak–Ron Paul 7, Huckabee 9, MaCain 12, Romney 16. I recorded the debate and I'm also going go back and total the amount of time each candidate was given to speak. I believe the totals will be shockingly unfair.

This is not new though…The Florida debate was just as uneven. The candidates should at least receive air time commensurate with their standings in the national polls.

He came out unscathed, but it didn't counter his lack of knowledge. He doesn't have a clue. Who would be his puppet master? I think we need to elect someone who has indepth knowledge and experience. McCain and Romney can't be trusted and Paul has a personality deficit. Combine Huckabee and Paul and you have one candidate. Luckily republicans have no sense of right and wrong, so they have no problem with either McCain or Romney.

The media won't let Ron Paul get a word in. The avoid asking him questions, and cut him off when he tries to speak. Is this America anymore?

I found the debate to be very centered around McCain and Romney. Although the momentum of these two candidates is strong enough to predict they will be the top two candidates, it does not take away from the fact that there was a debate last night that included four republicans. The purpose of a debate is to allow the ideas and beliefs of the contenders to interact with the ideas and beliefs of eachother. I found the media's response to Ron Paul completly ABSENT. The coverage of dial testing left Congressman Paul out of the picture. In my opinion, when he was able to speak, he scared the crap out of the other candidates. They seemed to skirt around responding to anything he said. Maybe my thoughts are biased coming from a liberal minded individual but I would have liked to see the top candidates respond and interact with a true conservative and a Congressman who truly wants to discuss actual ideals and issues.

OH, and Anderson Cooper… Nice job controlling that debacle of a debate. It was annoying and you should have called the candidates to the mat earlier on.

I have to love how CNN ignores Ron Paul even though many local newspapers, like the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, etc. are talking about his performance and, most importantly, what he said. Even though Anderson Cooper was clearly biased and ordered to pay attention to only Romney and McCain and cut off both Huckabee and Paul.

So what about CNN? Nothing. Not one word on the entire Ticker. Ted Turner was right, selling CNN was the stupidest mistake he's ever made.

Now let's look at it from a long time independents point of view:

McCain – One of his worse performances (even his followers are saying so). He rambled through many answers and definitely blew it on the economy whenever asked. His answer for illegal amnesty was weak at best and wishy washy when compared to his past statements. Sadly this once excellent statesman has become a shadow of his former self and this debate definitely showed a vindictive and stubborn streak that smacks of both Bush and Rudy. Something we do not need in the White House.

Romney – As usual he was hitting the targets he aimed at. His answers, while clear, still flip-flopped on some issues, and sadly he too was weak on the economy and what to do about it. His smugness at times in regards to McCain belied an arrogance that has appeared in him from time to time.

Paul – The only one that pointed out how silly it was for McCain and Romney to be bickering over details on something they both agreed on. He was also the only candidate who was very clear on his answers about the economy, how we got where we are, and why. Plus, unlike all the rest (even the Democrats) he is the only candidate who has linked the war, overseas spending, shipping away jobs, foreign investments, and domestic policy together as they should be. Thankfully he said all this even though constantly, and rudely, cut of by Cooper.

Huckabee – The other ignored candidate now. His frustration at Cooper's idiotic performance as host clearly showed, and rightly so! And unlike McCain and Romney, Huckabee is a respectful man who has been listening, not just to Paul but the American people. He has come out and talked about the points that all three are discussing. Sadly his record, as he tried to defend, shows him to be a big government spender. He knows about the economy but not really what to do. His views on the war are another detriment. I don't think anyone will forget (or ever should) that he said we should bomb Muslim shrines if need be. Talk about a way to have them attack us!

The winner was Ron Paul, who still is making more money from independent donations than any of the others. Who lasted out the CNN and other hero Rudy. And who still gets more retired and active military donations than any other candidate. He might not have been given much time to say it, but what he did say we know was 100% truthful (check his record) and not just more trumped up sound bites.

McCain looked old, angry and downright petty. I was actually stunned by how clumsy he was in attacking Romney, how foolish his arguments sounded (when you could actually figure out what they were) and lastly how unappealing they were.

So, discussions of how long we would need to stay in a civil war are not conservative? "Timetables" are some liberal code word? Right John, we should instead puff up and reiterate that we'll stay forever if need be… that's Presidential.

Done with him… for good.

I thought Huckabee was funny and personable and if he were a preacher I would want to go his church. I am a democrat looking for an alternative to Obama. A lot of democrats I know are doing the same. Where I was once looking at McCain, who I think came off smug and condescending, I am interested in Roomney's health care plan in his own state. We don't need another smug and condescending face in the whitehouse. This is going to be a very different race and leaning a little to the left might be a smart move for these candidates. Democrats are very interested in healthcare.

I am a Democrat on the fence and it appeared that Huckabee could obtain my vote.
He was direct, to the point and concerned about the issues.

Maverick McCain has been dead for a long time.

His current supporters like Bomb Bomb Bomb Insane Mccain who promises to outdo Bush in warmongering and lying.

He's proven himself to be more than willing to compromise any principles he might have had before

if it gets him to the WH.

A quintessential american hero.

Hey Bill was Ron Paul there? I could have sworn he was. Though he was given much less time than the other candidates so I can see how you completely missed him.

It is interesting that CNN and the rest of the mainstream media–along with the debate moderators–continue to try to marginalize Ron Paul during this primary season. As a former member of both the Democratic and Republican Parties, I would suggest that Ron Paul is the only candidate who is interested in following the U.S. Constitution in all areas. He is the only candidate who is not a globalist, unlike the other candidates in both major parties who are getting all of the attention by the mainstream media. Ron Paul is not like the phonies who have the same anti-American agenda as their masters, the multi-nationalists and the banking cartel. Only Ron Paul is interested in dealing with the huge financial problems that the unconstitutional, private, non-goverment "Federal" Reserve has continually caused since it was sneaked into "law" in 1913 when many of the members of Congress had already gone home for a Christmas holiday.

And McCain kept repeating himself, which made him sound like an old man. Perhaps he has always repeated himself, I don't know.

MCCAIN IS JUST ANOTHER BUSH. IF MCCAIN IS ELECTED WE WILL BE IN IRAQ A LONG TIME . HE HAS NO PLAN FOR THE ECONOMY AS NEITHER DOES THE REST OF THEM . THE RICHEST WILL GET A REBATE BUT 20 MILLION ON SOCIAL SECURITY WILL NOT .

This debate was a joke. McCain and Romney were confrontational only because the questioners prodded them. Paul is a legitimate candidate and CNN blatantly snubbed him. This election is so important to my future and my daughter's future and what America really needs are objective news sources. Your spin and slant is a huge disservice to this country. It is a disgrace.

I can only wonder why the candidates were not given equal time to speak. Most all of us already know McCain`s and Romney`s positions. I personally watched the debates to see and hear what Ron Paul had to say on the issues.

But CNN did their best to marginalize Mr. Paul, and Mr. Huckabee. I find this very frightening that a media company would pick sides in a Presidential debate and try to invoke their choice on the American voter..

I am sure I am not the only person that felt CNN did not want the voters to hear what Mr. Paul had to say. What is CNN so afraid of?

CNN your actions only peak my curiosity more.

AMEN!!!

If Ron Paul was actually given an opportunity to speak, you may have felt that Paul wont he debate, but Cooper made sure that wouldn't happen.

I totally agree with you Bill!

Debate ranking:
1- Huckabee
2- Romney
3- Ron Paul
4- McCain

It is sad that Ron Paul did not get enough time to speak at the debate last night.
I was very disappointed that Anderson Cooper interrupted him a couple of times during the debate and that wasn't professional at all.

Cnn all ways makeing thing sound bad——-please stop

Yes, Huckabee with his fried chicken wisdom is priceless. Please make him go away! He is an embarrasment – the Republican's Kucinich. Ron Paul is more sane and reasonable than Huck.

Stop the silencing of Dr. Ron Paul.
Don't you have any ethics?
There are 4 candidates running for the Republican Party nomination.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, Dr. Paul is the only candidate who has offered a plan that reduces government spending, by over 150 billion dollars. The others have all offered plans that increase spending by billions.

This debate was a complete farce. All McCain and Romney did was bicker about the Iraq / timetables question, and who said what. If it wasn't such an importnant issue I ould have been amused by McCain saying that "overall, the Amercian people are better off? I think the old "I want to know what drugs he is taking" line applies here. Paul and Huckabee were given hardly any time to Speak (at one point they both looked at each other like "I can't beleive this??" that was one of my favorite moments. It amazes me how biased these debates are. Anderson Lied to Paul, saying he would get back to him so he could answer a question, but never did. Complete farce.