Josh Marshall captions the above video:
This is a classic case of gaffe as excessive candor — not ‘that’s outrageous, you can’t have illegals working on my property’ but ‘dude, I’m running for office, hiring illegals will kill me’
You know what? Republicans got sick of the Illegal Nannies debate back around February, 1993. Perry’s not doing himself any favors here.
Did Rick Perry really think that he could trip up Romney by talking about the aliens who worked at his house? In a debate on Nov. 28, 2007, Giuliani went after Romney on the very same issue. Romney had seen this one coming for four years, so it’s no surprise that he had an answer ready.
Allahpundit yawns at Santorum's attack on Romneycare (video directly above):
It’s … not so great, actually. Santorum does okay in taking it to him, but Gingrich practically shrivels when Romney calls him on his own past support for the mandate. Honestly, I’m not sure how productive these RomneyCare attacks are anymore at the debates. … the real damage done by attacks on RomneyCare will come via ads.
[W]hat nobody managed to do was to spell out the extent to which the Affordable Care Act was modeled on Romneycare– that the national plan borrows the subsidized exchanges composed of private health plans conforming to minimum coverage rules, with the whole structure made economically viable by the individual mandate and the employer mandate. Romney was again allowed to emphasize that he created a free market solution for the uninsured, though he didn't get around this time to the lie that the ACA is by contrast "government controlled," as if it weren't structured the same way.
Mitt Romney is not a likeable figure (IMO), but he knows what he is doing in a debate and has gotten steadily better at it. He can use logic (more of a distinguishing trait in this field than you would think); he can control his emotions; he can make others lose control of their emotions — especially Perry, who looked like he wanted land a big haymaker upside Mitt's head…
Romney has won every debate so far, and tonight was no exception. His moment of greatest vulnerability came when Senator Santorum attacked him over health care, but Santorum was so rude about it that he ended up looking worse than Romney did. Romney took more hits than he has in previous debates, though, so this debate was a narrower win than its predecessors.
The fifth Republican presidential debate since Labor Day — and by far the most entertaining — had the same winner as the previous four. Mitt Romney is the only person on the stage who understands — or can at least speak clearly on — the full breadth of issues that face the president. Romney took heavy fire from nearly everyone, but his rivals usually did more harm to themselves.
W. James Antle III analyzes the Cain 9-9-9 pile on (video directly above):
On the merits, the 999 portion of this debate should be devastating for Herman Cain. The plan is not holding up well under scrutiny, which is why it is already being changed. Cain can point to no other analysis but one commissioned by his own campaign to support some of his central contentions about the plan. Cain seemed irritated under fire. Yet if the primary electorate has begun to deeply sympathize with Cain, there could be some backlash against the entire Republican field ganging up on him in that fashion.
Everyone took shots at Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan tonight, but they mostly didn't draw much blood. Cain just out-blustered them, and he was helped by the fact that the rest of the field had a hard time really going after him hard. After all, how can a bunch of conservatives attack a plan that's basically conservative flat-taxism on steroids?
For all the Cain hype as he has surged in the polls, the former pizza executive seemed to fade as the debate wore on, especially when the subject turned to foreign policy, where he is visibly less confident. Despite the pundits’ predictions, the spotlight moved inexorably back toward Mitt Romney, who actually showed flashes of the passion that has been so conspicuously missing from his campaign. Las Vegas should adjust its betting odds: Romney just moved one step closer to the nomination.
My biggest problem with Cain is that he doesn't seem to have much of a grasp on the necessarily political nature of policy implementation. You see it in his fantastical three-stage tax plan. You see it in his apparent surprise that the bailouts weren't executed the way he would have preferred.
The real problem is, and will remain, that Cain has no political experience and apparently a complete lack of familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues. No matter how appealing Cain is, no matter how bold his plan, no matter how badly conservatives want and need to support a challenger to the right of Mitt Romney, it’s difficult to take Cain seriously as a potential nominee. That leaves Perry, with all he still needs to prove.
The Dish 