-- I'm going to be "sort of" living blogging the debate. I say "sort of," because if the GOP debate is as dull as the Democrat debate, there aren't going to be that many comments made that really catch my ear. But, I will be watching and every so often, I'll chime in with something. Feel free to do the same in the comments section.

I'm liveblogging the debate which is, so far, better than I expected....

PS: I'm going to do my best to avoid commenting on what Duncan Hunter says, for obvious reasons, but forgive me if I can't help myself and say something anyway.

-- 8:05: McCain smacks Reid in his first question. Nice!

-- 8:09: Mitt sounded very good, very professional. He had an outstanding answer to the question about Iraq.

-- 8:12: Ok, so, Huckabee, if we need hundreds of thousands of troops -- well, we don't have them. So, what now, Huckabee? Not a great answer.

-- 8:13: I can tell already that there are going to be a lot of questions put out that invite the candidates to criticize Bush.

-- 8:16: Boy, Tom Tancredo really had trouble with that question about Israel and Iran. Understandable, but still...

-- 8:20 Mitt: "Osama Bin Laden will pay and he will die!" I like it!

-- 8:21: Honestly, this is a lot more interesting than the Democratic debates. People are actually talking about ideas instead of dodging everything.

-- 8:22: McCain will follow Bin Laden to the "Gates of Hell." That's a good line.

-- 8:23: McCain and Huckabee had funny lines at least on Arnold.

-- 8:26: Tanc seems a little nervous and off his game.

-- 8:29: Ooooh....Rudy just came across as being indifferent to whether Roe v. Wade is overturned. Not helpful for him.

-- 8:31: Mitt went from polished to waffling like John Kerry when he was asked about abortion.

-- 8:33: Boy, Rudy stinks on abortion, too. Ooof...

-- 8:36: Ron Paul would have been a better fit foreign policy wise in the Democratic debate.

-- 8:38: Mitt gave a great answer on the church question. Again, very polished.

-- 8:40: I am not the biggest Mike Huckabee fan, but I have to give him credit for being more charismatic than I thought he was.

-- 8:42: I wasn't involved in debate prep, but I think Duncan has an interesting strategy. He side-steps these little foo-foo questions they've been asking the 2nd tier guys and tells people about the more important parts of his platform. It's a little bit of a different strategy, but so far, in my biased opinion, I think it has worked for him.

-- 8:44: Did Tanc ever prep for this debate? Yeesh, I love Tanc, but, man, he has really had a tough time...

-- 8:45: Tommy Thompson just made a nice pitch for himself.

-- 8:47: Sam Brownback is....he just doesn't quite have the knack.

-- 8:49: Now everybody is going way off track. I think that's because the questions are a little fluffy.

-- 8:51: Man, Huckabee is really helping himself, I think. He is showing that unlike our currrent President, he can express himself.

-- 8:53: I can hardly believe I am saying this, but MSNBC actually asked tougher questions to the Democrats than they have to the Republicans so far.

-- 8:54: Ok, come on, give Duncan a chance to bury McCain on illegal immigration! Awww...I was hoping that Duncan would sidestep global warming and bury McCain. Didn't happen.

-- 9:00: McCain and Rudy are the only candidates for embryonic stem cell research.

-- 9:02: I really think they should get into immigration a little heavier in the last 30 minutes. It's a huge issue and they really haven't touched it.

-- 9:10: Again, I am biased but Duncan's answer about killing Zarqawi and improving the border rocked hard! Nice job, Dunc!

-- 9:12: Believe it or not, Drudge is running a debate poll. Go vote! -- By, the way, first place is currently Tommy Thompson at 28% (Think there are people who haven't seen the debate and are confusing him with Fred?).

-- 9:17: Tommy Thompson said "several thousand" troops were injured in Iraq. He was very low. They'll be ragging on him tomorrow for that. Rudy nailed his "gotcha" question on the difference between Shia and Sunny Muslims.

-- 9:21: A national ID card only for aliens....uh, doesn't that defeat the point, Mitt and Rudy? So, if they DON'T HAVE THE CARD, they're Americans? Uh...

-- 9:23: Ron Paul is really determined to capture the anti-war vote.

-- 9:25: Matthews is inviting everyone to beat up on the Clintons. Very interesting...

-- 9:26: I was very strongly in favor of what Congress did in the Schiavo case and still am, so I was very pleased to hear Duncan say that he supported trying to save Schiavo.

-- 9:32: Debate Summary: (I am going to leave Duncan out of this since I am working for him.)

Winners: 1) Mike Huckabee 1) Mitt Romney -- Both were very charismatic

Losers: 1) Tom Tancredo (Seemed unprepared) 2) (Late addition) Rudy, because he came across as being to the left of everyone but Ron Paul and for a guy who is supposed to be exceptionally personable, he didn't seem all that charming.

Not Sure: Ron Paul isn't going to appeal to 95% of the base, but he stands alone as an anti-war Republican and he will appeal to the relatively small contingent of Republicans who support that position. So, he may be sort of like Ralph Nader: no, he can't win, but he may have gained the support of a certain niche group that will stick with him long-term.

Overall, I thought it was a much more substance filled and interesting debate than the one the Democrats had last week. Also, I have to give MSNBC credit -- they did a good job overall and if anything, they may have been too soft on the candidates.

I consult for the Duncan Hunter campaign through TCV Media.