Iowa Debate Does Little to Change the Republican Race

While Floridians can be excused if their focus was on other matters on Thursday night -- namely, the Jacksonville Jaguars being utterly routed by the New England Patriots in their first NFL pre-season game -- the debate held in Iowa by the various Republican presidential candidates marked the state of a different stage of the contest. For the first time, the Republican hopefuls went after each other, and there were some interesting clashes between the various candidates.

Mitt Romney started the debate as the front-runner and nothing happened during the debate to diminish his standing. However, despite a few jabs from Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, Romney was not the focus of the debate as he has downplayed the Iowa Republican straw poll being held on Saturday. He should expect to draw a lot more fire in future debates.

Bachmann is one of the favorites in Ames and her performance did nothing to undermine that. She has positioned herself as a candidate with high principles who will not back down. With Rick Perry and Sarah Palin looming on the horizon, Bachmann probably did enough to keep conservatives in her camp for the moment.

Pawlenty was much more aggressive this time out than he was in previous debates, taking the fight to both Romney and Bachmann. But it may have been too little, too late -- and Bachmann did question Pawlentys conservative credentials.

Ron Paul and Rick Santorum went a few rounds during the debate. Paul picked up his game in the last third of the debate. It was easy to dismiss the Texas congressman as a fringe candidate in 2008, but as Newt Gingrichs call to audit the Federal Reserve shows, Paul has helped shift the direction of the GOP during his two presidential bids. We know Paul can command the passionate devotion of his supporters; it remains to be seen if he can go beyond them.

Santorum has worked Iowa hard and he is hoping it pays off for him in Ames. He certainly gave social conservatives and neoconservatives reasons to back him in the debate. Taking on Paul helped Mike Huckabee rise in 2008, but Santorum is much further back in the pack and his performance on Thursday will not propel him into the top tier.

The other candidates had their moments. Jon Huntsman tried to show he was a bit different than the rest of the pack and he did take up the school choice banner at the end of the debate. Newt Gingrich scored points in attacking the press but often seemed a bit too defensive. Neither of them did anything that will get them back into the Ames event or the contest in general.

Herman Cain needed to do better in the debate. He made the mistake of saying he needed a top three finish in Ames and that is looking increasingly unlikely. His performance on Thursday was solid but unspectacular. With Romney highlighting his economic expertise and Bachmann doing well with tea party supporters, Cain needs to rev up his efforts. The past 20 years in the Republican primaries, candidates who have never held major political office who were strong in the debates often did surprisingly well in the Republican primaries. Its why Pat Buchanan, Alan Keyes and Steve Forbes outlasted the likes of Richard Lugar, Pete Wilson and Phil Gramm in 1996. Its why Forbes, Keyes and Gary Bauer did better than Elizabeth Dole, John Kasich, Dan Quayle and Lamar Alexander in 2000. Despite his impressive oratory and media skills, Cain was not much of a factor in the debate. With Romney and Bachmann stealing his thunder a bit and with his bid apparently going nowhere in Ames, Cain needs to shine in the debates. Being solid is simply not enough for an underdog at this stage in the game -- especially as Perry, and possibly others, looks ready to jump in.