Gingrich, Romney and Paul Are Good, Bad and Ugly at Debate (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The GOP debate Monday brought to a head some of the major issues and brought out strong reactions to the candidates. With the candidate pack reduced to five, each had more time to speak, self-promote and attack opponents. The debate also proved what a circus the political arena has become when the audience became such an active participant that it almost needed a podium of its own.

Newt Gingrich won big at the debate. Politico.com reports he received a standing ovation from the crowd. When Gingrich is on his game he is a formidable debate opponent and Monday night was a jewel to place in his debating crown. The amazing part is that he earned this debate advocating for child labor. It reflects poorly on the residents of South Carolina that the idea of forcing children to work as janitors excites them into a frenzy of applause.

Mitt Romney took a beating over his reluctance to release his tax returns. CBS News reports he kind of, sort of agreed to release his returns around April. You can see him stammer his way through his reply like Porky Pig on YouTube. I counted about a dozen "uh" moments in those few sentences as Romney appeared to go into some form of brain lock over the question.

Ron Paul found the audience much less receptive to him than those in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Washington Post reports Paul was "repeatedly booed" by the crowd for his positions on foreign policy, which includes bringing our troops home to defend the nation and cutting the military budget. Maybe there are so many South Carolina members of the armed services or so many bases there, or their Civil War history. The audience almost seemed ready to storm the stage and drag Paul off to be tarred and feathered.

With the South Carolina primary just a few days away there is still time for candidates to make a splash. If Romney pulls out another win, scoring an early nomination hat trick, it's likely he'll win the nomination to run against President Barack Obama. We'll know after the South Carolina primary if another candidate will become a competing front-runner by ending Romney's winning streak.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120131/cm_ac/10846349_gingrich_romney_and_paul_are_good_bad_and_ugly_at_debate

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