No Runny Eggs

Since I’m a day late with the gradebook, it’s a good thing a lot of people took notes, like Mary Katharine Ham (who did the debate in lolDebatez format) Matt Lewis, Vodkapundit, and Huckleberry Dumbell, to back up my own PG-13-rated notes (rated such for language).  Let’s break out the red pen and start grading both the candidates and the moderators:

Maria Bartiromo – B – She had the benefit of having Chris Matthews as the co-host, and most of her questions were decent economic ones.

Sam Brownback – B – The good: Flat tax, drill’em oil policy, no tax increases, focus on the family.  The bad: electric cars (batteries do not work too well at zero degrees and colder, and it’s not a Wisconsin or Michigan winter without a few sub-zero nights), lack of stage presence, like of Greenspan, flat tax plan “optional”.

Rudy Giuliani – B – The good: Once again laid the smackdown on Ron Paul (though I would’ve dipped back to 12/7 instead of 9/11), seems to have turned over a new leaf from his ’80s witchhunt of Wall Street, good stage presence, sense of history (he actually dipped back before 9/11 for once).  The bad: Wrong side of line-item veto (to be fair, I don’t want a President with Wisconsin’s Frankenstein veto), I still can’t get over his ’80s witchhunt of Wall Street.

John Harwood – I, leaning toward F – My semi-drunk notes (I would’ve been racing Vodkapundit, but I had to pace myself because of Drinking Right later last night) only show him asking 2 questions, but both started off with “Wah!”

Mike Huckabee – D+ – The good: He won’t wait for a public opinion poll if inbound nukes are on the way, faith in the American consumer.  The bad: Repeating the “end of underground economy” lie vis-a-vis the “Fair”Tax, predicting a union comeback, supporting corn-a-hole, willing to spend billions just to deny the ‘Rats a political win (and giving them the actual win instead).

Duncan Hunter – C – The good: Understands we’re in a trade war, and that the Pubbies need to be more “human”.  The bad: He’s turned into a one-note pony, blind support for the “Fair”Tax.

Chris Matthews – F – Once again, Prissy Chrissy proved the truth behind the ancient Egyptian fable of the scorpion and the horse.  It was at the 45-minute mark, right after the first set of commercials, he plunged his stinger into the debate.

John McCain – C- – The good: Once again the most-quoted by his opponents, against compuslory union membership, command of history, won’t make the mistake of McShame-Slimeroad Lieberal Protection Act with the Internet, earmark-hater  The bad: Big-government lover, way out of his league on economic issues, bad stumbler (and that doesn’t count the problems hearing a couple of questions), egotistical.

Ron Paul – F – The good (yes, there is a good here): dislike of subsidies.  The bad:  Utter stupidity with regard to foreign relations, brain-dead on history, latent goldbug, dislike of subsidies seems more pro-forma than an actual core belief.

Mitt Romney – B- – The good: “(S)moother than a smoothie smoothed over with fine-grit sandpaper” (shamelessly stolen from Vodkapundit), says most of the right things.  The bad:  The record doesn’t support the rhetoric, support for farm subsidies while also supporting corn-a-hole, support for HiliaryCare Lite (i.e. TaxachusettsCare).

Jeffrey Seib – B+ – Two of the three questions he posed were very good ones.  He got the corn-a-hole monster out on the table (promptly flubbed by both candidates it was posed to).

Tom Tancredo – C- – The good:  The only candidate to recognize that the 3,000-lb hippo in the government part of the economic room is SocSecurity and Medicare, and the 3,000-lb hippo in the trade half is imported oil, won’t raise taxes.  The bad:  Somehow ties everything back to illegal immigration (stretching too far sometimes), gratuitous cheap shot at Brownback’s mother (which knocked the grade down a full grade).

Fred Thompson – B – The good:  Avoided the Prissy Landmines with aplomb, said that unionizing ballots should remain secret ballots, generally got stronger as the debate went on.  The bad:  Slow start, fumbled the one “specifics” question from Bartiromo.