What They're Saying About Last Night's GOP Debate

Washington Examiner: Santorum Surprises

“When it was over, Pawlenty had underwhelmed the audience, doing what many felt was an OK job — passable answers, no gaffes — but also not taking full advantage of the opportunity he had to distinguish himself from the others.  Cain had scored points on some key issues — and thrilled participants in Frank Luntz’s Fox News focus group — but left observers baffled by what appeared to be an astonishing lack of preparation on a key national security issue.  And a third candidate — Santorum — who hadn’t been picked as a pre-debate favorite, turned in the evening’s most solid performance.”

RedState.com: Pawlenty, Cain Come Out On Top

“The first winner is Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. Handicapped by being Minnesota’s Governor, many pundits on the right have struggled to put him in the top tier of Republican candidates. He was largely a no-named candidate compared to a Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or a Sarah Palin — the other Governors in the race. Tonight, he proved he is Presidential material….The other big winner is Herman Cain. In fact, in the Frank Luntz gathering after the debate, Cain dominated. He went from being unknown to a household name. Herman Cain gave the best one liners and a brilliant defense of his lack of elected experience. He pointed out all the guys in Washington who have been elected and asked, “How’s that working out for ya?” It was a golden moment.”

Daily Beast: Pawlenty Gets Grilled In Forgettable Debate

“Pawlenty took most of the flak but made no major mistake. And even if he had, who’s going to remember this debate a week from now?”

Bloomberg: Candidates Go After Obama On Nat’l Security Record

“With the exception of Cain, all of those on the stage said that if they had been in the White House, they would have made the opposite call to Obama’s and released a photo of bin Laden’s corpse.”

Politico: Foreign Policy Dominates Debate

“The faceoff, co-sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party, came just days after Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Bin Laden’s death sharply reoriented the debate among the five candidates here — the first 15 minutes were spent on foreign policy — not jobs, the economy or the national debt, which have been key issues for the GOP. It also muted some criticism of Obama — and the first time his name came up, it was to praise from former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.”

Conservative Commentator S.E. Cupp: Score One For Pawlenty

(Via Twitter): “From my seat, TPaw won night. Cain had great zingers. Santorum better than expected. Paul was Paul. Guy who won the free trip was…there.”