My analysis of CNN’s Presidential Debate Among GOP contenders in New Hampshire

Tonight’s Presidential debate on CNN showed me that we truly do have some remarkable candidates in this field. And, I’m not sure that we’ve even seen them all. First of all, the debate format was horrible. There were too many “30 second only” answers. And what’s worse, there were even too many “5 or 6 second only” answers – all determined by CNN and its host, John King. Candidates need more time to articulate fuller answers – sound bites are not the solution, they’re the problem. And the media is to blame for this if they are setting up the format.

This debate also brought me to reality. The main purpose of this primary season has to be to produce a candidate that will beat Obama. And, that candidate also has to clearly differentiate themselves from Obama and offer Americans a clear alternative. So, here’s what I thought about each candidate and their candidacies to meet that goal:

Rick Santorum: My heart and soul is with him. I think he has the best ideas on economics, social issues, and foreign policy. He also has passion and experience and is a great family man. Unfortunately, the media has already branded him as too right-wing, too socially conservative. So I don’t see him as a real possibility to win the Republican nomination. And this is coming from a true believer in Senator Santorum’s ideas. Should events prove otherwise, I could see myself getting on board, but not at this moment.

Michelle Bachmann: Before tonight, I’ve liked her views, but never saw her as a serious Presidential contender. But wow, she really impressed me tonight. She stood out to me as perhaps the smartest, most principled person on that stage, with a lot more experience (both in life and policy) than I had previously realized. I’m not counting her out just yet. I think she could stand toe-to-toe with Obama. She called him out enough tonight and her record stands on its own merit.

Ron Paul: A man with consistent, principled ideas. But let’s face it: some of his ideas are not going to win him over the center of the Republican Party. More than that, he’s too old and looks like he wants to take a nap. And he needs to. His ideas have inspired many young people, but sometimes one can hang on too long and that may make his ideas start to look as kooky as his chances to win this candidacy. Paulistas need to celebrate the man and his ideas, but get behind a real candidate that has a chance. 2012 is too important.

Tim Pawlenty: In recent weeks, I thought T-Paw might be the candidate. He failed to deliver tonight and I see him as the real loser in this debate. For the most part, he has a great record as Governor of Minnesota, but he came across as weak and unable to take a stand in tonight’s debate. After criticizing Romney’s health care plan on television during this campaign, he was given a softball question to dismantle RomneyCare right there on stage. And he failed to do so. If he isn’t willing to take on another candidate in a debate, we can’t trust that he’ll do the same to Obama. What I saw was exactly the same thing I saw with McCain: he thinks if he plays nice, he’ll win. He’s wrong. And, I’ve completely written off his candidacy.

Newt Gingrich: Ever since he attacked Paul Ryan’s great plan to reform Medicare, his campaign has gone under – to the point where all of his top advisors and staff have left him. He performed well tonight, but failed to revise his opposition to Ryan’s Medicare. I suppose he thought doing so would make him look like a flip-flopper. He’s a great communicator and that will take him far, but conservatives no longer trust him. He’s been inside the beltway too long and I don’t see too many people excited about his candidacy any longer. Good riddance.

Herman Cain: He did much better in the first debate last month, because it was his first major introduction to the nation. He has been building expectations and he probably is getting past the “wow” moment with most voters. That said, he is a truth-telling machine. He has the ability to give the sound bites required of these debates, but injects a grain of common sense wisdom combining principled stands with political realities. He was able to adequately explain his initial decision to support TARP (the bailouts) and tell us why he no longer supported it when the government started picking winners and losers. His fiery rhetoric and business experience is a force to be reckoned with and he would absolutely demolish Obama in the debates and win a good chunk of the African-American vote. Don’t count him out.

Mitt Romney: Before tonight, I had written Romney off as someone I would not support. He re-opened the door for me tonight. He convincingly differentiated between ObamaCare and RomneyCare – and made a federalist argument in the process: let states decide. He said that if Obama used Romney’s health care plan in Massachusetts as a model for ObamaCare, “Why didn’t he call me?” He is a very articulate candidate who gave many great answers on jobs and the economy. While he isn’t my first choice at the moment, he convinced me tonight he can not only beat Obama, but he can do so with conservative support behind him. He is the big winner in tonight’s debate. He told me: if you’re thinking about Pawlenty, you should really reconsider me. If that was his goal, his goal was met.

This race is far from over. I’m back on track with Herman Cain and I’m looking closer at Mitt Romney and Michelle Bachman. But my heart and soul is with Rick Santorum. Our nominee and candidate for President isn’t going to be perfect. But America needs to get back on track. And we need a candidate that can stand toe-to-toe with Obama and vote with a Republican-led Congress to repeal ObamaCare, remove red tape for business owners, and let the American people get back to work. A candidate that can win with these goals should win our vote, without ideological purity. The stakes are too high.