Live Analysis: GOP Presidential Debate

September 22, 2011 | 9:05 p.m.
Updated: September 23, 2011 | 11:12 a.m.

Nine Republican presidential candidates are gathered in Orlando, Florida, for a debate co-sponsored by Fox News and Google. National Journal's editors will use this space to offer real-time analysis of the debate throughout the evening.

11:04 Sean Sullivan: Romney turned in another steady performance, leveling criticism at Perry on immigration and playing quick defense against Perry's barbs. Perry didn't have to contend with secondary candidates going after him as much as he did last time, but he did have to contend with himself, as he fumbled his flip-flop charge against Perry and once again did not appear at ease when discussing foreign policy/national security. Finally, Gary Johnson will probably fade into the background again, but his shovel-ready comment won't. Count on seeing his zinger in just about every story tomorrow morning.

10:53 Kathy Kiely: There's a lot that could be said about Rick Perry's suggestion that you could "mate up" Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain to come up with a dream running mate, but maybe it would be safest to just leave it at this: We now understand why the governor got a C in Animal Breeding at Texas A&M

10:45 Josh Kraushaar: Line of the night from Gary Johnson: My next-door neighbors' dogs have created more shovel-ready projects than this president.

10:39 Sean Sullivan: The broader flip-flopping charge against Romney was offered (ineffectively) by Perry at a point when he could have gone after Romney specifically over the health care plan he signed in Massachusetts. Perry tried to go bigger but missed an opportunity to hit Romney where it hurts.

10:34 Josh Kraushaar: As he's done in the past debates, Perry's fading towards the final stretch. He flubbed his prepared attack line against Romney on his flip-flopping.

10:20 Sean Sullivan: One of the defining characteristics of the last debate: the extent to which candidates not named Romney went after Perry. We're seeing less of that this time and instead, more JV side scrimmages between Johnson/Bachmann and Santorum/Huntsman.

10:18 Julie Sobel: When Huntsman, who's been a non-factor so far in this debate, finally goes on the attack, his target is Santorum. Santorum is still the only second tier candidate who's mixed it up with the frontrunners in this debate.

10:13 Kathy Kiely: Bachmann seizing a moment to blast Cuba, a sure applause line in a state that is home to many Cuban exiles and their children. But she's having to pick a fight with Gary Johnson. Romney and Perry are still focused on each other.

10:10 Kathy Kiely: Parsing words? Perry's press shop just sent out a releasing saying that Perry "never said Social Security was unconstitutional" and offering this quote as evidence: "And there stands a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal, in stark contrast to the mythical notion of salvation to which it has wrongly been attached for too long, all at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government."

No, he didn't use the "u-word." He said Social Security came at "the expense of respect for the Constitution."

10:00 Sean Sullivan: Romney gets a nice 2-for-1 deal. He offers a concise and clear criticism of Perry on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, name-checking Bachmann and Gingrich along the way to cast Perry as out of touch with the rest of the field on the issue. Moments later, Santorum piles on with a harsh attack on Perry that works just as well as Romney getting another dig in. 9:57 Josh Kraushaar: Perry's version of compassionate conservatism: "You don't have a heart" if you don't believe in in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. 9:46 Josh Kraushaar: Perry slammed Romney for praising Obama's Race To The Top education reforms, requiring certain states to raise standards and hold schools accountable. Perry's call for local control of education is a far cry from President Bush's No Child Left Behind law -- as well as Jeb Bush's innovative education proposals that have gotten a wide hearing in GOP circles. 9:40 Kathy Kiely: Newt Gingrich just took credit for wiping out the deficit as speaker of the House. That choking sound you just heard was Bill Clinton, sputtering out his diet soda. 9:38 Josh Kraushaar: Mitt Romney carefully avoided calling Pres. Obama a socialist, as mindful of the general election as much as the Republican primary. 9:33 Kathy Kiely: The Mitt-Rick show has started up again and the two are starting to take all the oxygen out of the room. A cutaway shot of Michele Bachmann shows her looking distinctly uncomfortable. The red jacketed Bachmann isn't getting as much time or audience love as the canary-tied Herman Cain. 9:29 Josh Kraushaar: Tale of two New Mexico governors: Gary Johnson, the quirky libertarian longshot who hasn't even been invited to most of the debates. Current New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, a popular female Hispanic Republican who will likely be on the short-list of GOP running mates. 9:11 Kathy Kiely: Nice recovery by Romney. After 24 hours on the defensive for claiming membership in the middle class, he says: "I want everyone to be rich." The loud cheer he got reflects one reason Democrats don't get more support from folks who seem to be the party's natural constituency. People's political views reflect their aspirations more than their current reality. 9:06 Josh Kraushaar: Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have a close relationship -- and the two have frequently referenced their friendly competition for jobs. Scott's unlikely to be endorsing (and the governor isn't popular back home), but it's not hard to figure where his sympathies lie.

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Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Steve Shepard, Executive Editor
Julie Sobel, Editor
Kevin Brennan, Deputy Editor


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