10:38 PM: So many times over this. But I just don’t think Romney gets that most people don’t think it’s funny that you made someone take out a mortgage on their home. It’s low level 10k bet, like to fire people who provide me services, etc., just not funny.
10:42 PM: I think Newt helped himself with those concluding remarks.
When Mitt tried to take Newt to task for trying to make his taxes even lower than the 15% he pays now. Just not an argument that works well for Mitt.
10:31 PM: Don’t think that cut it for Mitt on what he’s done for conservatism.
From TPM Reader MF …
Despite this being a close debate, I don’t think it’s going well for Newt even if he still looks pretty good. Newt needs to run roughshod over the debates or his balloon deflates pretty quickly. His whole surge is predicated on the notion that he’s going to tell Obama he’s a foreign Muslim Communist to his face, so doing OK isn’t really going to cut it for him. In that sense Romney has an ongoing advantage even if he’s never going to look as self-satisfied as Gingrich does up there. Mitt just needs to expose a few chinks in the armor.
Newt’s biggest problem so far: no questioner has given him the chance for the big finger-pointing moment.
10:03 PM: I feel like Newt felt this was almost the chance for raging at the moderator with Beth Reinhard. But even he knew there just wasn’t enough there.
10:09 PM: Mitt’s policy is to let people “self-deport”? “If people don’t have a card and through a system determine they are here illegally they will find they can’t get work here. If they can’t get work they will self-deport to where they can get work.”
9:45 PM: Looking at that thought bubble over Newt’s head: “Brian, dude, gimme something to work with!!!”
9:48 PM: Looks like Mitt’s dancing to a different drummer on housing foreclosures?
9:52 PM: Just a short time out for the real world. The Israelis asked the US to delay the military exercises with Israel.
Mitt finally got under Newt’s skin there toward the end of that lengthy exchange. A few times he seemed almost at a loss for words. That said, he came back with some strong lines. My biggest take from the first half hour is that both of these guys are really on their games tonight. And they should be. Everything is on the line.
9:19 PM: Only a few minutes in, but man, Newt’s on his game tonight. Even seems lighter on his feet somehow. Romney’s certainly on message too, consistently. But he hasn’t really landed a punch.
9:21 PM: This is really brilliant maneuver on Newt’s part, managing to whack Mitt on 15% and somehow sort of do it from the right.
9:23 PM: It was an interesting thing when Mitt pointed out that under Newt’s plan he’d have paid 0% rather than 15%. Good point. But just not one Mitt can do anything with. It’s basically saying heck with Newt’s policy my rate would be even more ridiculous than it is now! That doesn’t work.
9:28 PM: Okay, I think Mitt’s got his ducks in a row on ‘historian’.
9:30 PM: Entities!!!!
9:30 PM: Mitt’s finally getting under Newt’s skin. Reminds me of Mitt’s glory days decapitating Rick Perry.