Not sure I've ever seen the national anthem sung before a debate.

9:16 PM ... I find it fascinating that they just managed to have a highly technical and detailed discussion of economic and fiscal policy that was nevertheless complete nonsense.

9:24 PM ... We can be a shining family on a hill.

9:25 PM ... Fred Thompson would seem a lot more hardcore tearing into Mike Huckabee if he didn't keep having to look down at his notes to remember what his answer was.

9:35 PM ... Brit Hume is really a piece of work. The Captain of that Cruiser in the Gulf reacted "passively" because he didn't open fire on those Iranian speedboats.

9:39 PM ... Say what you will about McCain, he can't put silly Brit Hume in his place on this second-guess the Navy captain question.

9:42 PM ... There Brit is again with "passive".

9:52 PM ... Ron Paul is really making the most of being allowed to rejoin the Fox debates. He's taking over the whole thing.

10:13 PM ... Hadn't noticed this before. But on more than half his questions, Fred Thompson runs out of things to say before his time has run out. And then he goes into like a free association cliche fugue. Check him out next time he draws a question. (He's also hit the tanning booth, but that's admittedly less substantive.)

10:37 PM ... Wonderful, another completely surreal Frank Luntz focus group. Only this time it's Fred Thompson whose personality cult they've joined. It's really like watching an informercial.

10:39 PM ... Remember that Frank told TPMmuckraker's Paul Kiel that he tries to get repeaters to come to his focus groups.