Quick and Shallow…

1. I agree with Jim that the debate pretty much played out as if Pete was consulting them all. He should at least try sending them each a bill.

2. I definitely don’t think Bachmann comes back. But: She did kick Newt where it hurts on the Freddie Mac thing and got him defensive on the life and other social issues. Maybe the evangelicals of Iowa noticed. They don’t have an obvious candidate at this point. Michele also hit Paul hard on Iran and made him rant a bit on the issue on which he is is the weakest. That spoiled what could have been a good night for Ron with the Iowans and might have ensured that his support ceiling isn’t broken through.

3. I agree with Mr. Cheeks that Newt scored on the judicial activism issue. So I was puzzled to see the Fox TV experts this morning taking him to task for not appreciating the importance of an independent judiciary. Just by his noticing that Scalia is real smart, I appreciated Newt’s superiority in one area at least for a moment.

4. My take on Romney is that he believes the polls that show Newt fading, and so he was smart to lay off. His strong point remains being the only plausible president, and nothing happened to undermine that sensible perception. His reasonable hope is that Iowa won’t be decisive.

5. Best Iowa result: A kind of 4-way tie among Newt, Mitt, Ron, and Michele that neither provides any of them momentum nor winnows any of them out. Overall, the debate contributed to that possible result.