The republican debate; eight thoughts

My first thought is, after that last (Anderson Cooper) debate I watched, Newt Gingrich must have pulled the others aside and said, "Guys, let's not let them beat us."  No where near the infighting.
Second thought, Rick Perry got ignored virtually throughout the first half.  Leftist moderators must have decided the turnip was dry on pitting Perry against Romney.
Third thought, Maria whateverhernameis showed a consistent lack of class.  Starting with the Cain bimbo-scandal question.  Cain gave a good answer, and if it didn't put her in her place, Romney's lack of follow up and the crowd's reaction sure did.  Truth is, the only ones who give a shit about what these women say is the "shadows" that brought them out and the media that lap it up.
Fourth thought, Maria sure didn't like Newt after he told her that "healthcare in thirty seconds"  was "a joke disguised as a question."  Of course, by then she should have been used to seeing her pitches come rocketing back at her, since it happened virtually everytime she opened her mouth.  And when Newt suggested that he and Obama have at least three debates, "without moderator or time limits" just on healthcare, I'll bet the Prez put his hands over his little, er, buddy down there.
Fifth thought, that debate belonged to Newt, Mitt, and Ron Paul.  Cain and Santorum did okay, Huntsman too, and Bachman had her best effort to date.
Sixth thought, that guy from "MadMoney" was about an embarrassment, IMHO.  He ended up eating a lot of return pitches, too.
Seventh thought, All we'll hear about from the drive-by media tomorrow is "Bachman's Happy Meal tax", Cain calling Pelosi "Princess Nancy", and Perry not being able to remember the dept. of Energy.  Damn shame, that.  One of the twitter comments during the debate was, "If the number of people watching Fear Factor was watching the Republican Debate, the economy would be straightened out quick."  Sadly, too many people will only know about those three items above, or whatever else the media decides they should repeat in sound bytes.
Final thought.  I see much more in Ron Paul than I did before; begin to be more comfortable with Mitt; and look more at Newt as a viable candidate.