The Note: Republican Rumble

May 4, 2007— -- "OK," as Rudolph Giuliani might say. No knockout punches, no game-changers, nothing that's likely to change the dynamic of a Big Three flanked by seven dwarves. None of them wants Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to win the White House (surprise), all of them would rather talk about Ronald Reagan than the current president (another shocker), and Karl Rove will have to look for work in the private sector (it's time to make money anyway).

The Republicans who would be president weren't debating each other as much as themselves last night. And while none is running on the legacy of President Bush – whose war with Iraq is threatening to saddle the entire Republican Party in 2008 - the first GOP presidential debate made clear that the Republican primary to succeed Bush will be settled not on the war - on that, they agree - but on more traditional GOP terrain: social issues. That, of course, is a bigger problem for some candidates (ahem, Romney and Giuliani) than others.

Other takeaways from the Reagan Presidential Library:

Former governor Mitt Romney (R-Mass.): No candidate looked in fuller control of the stage last night – at least in part because the lottery gave him first podium position, and therefore first crack at softballs. He looked presidential – but also a smidge too pat in listing obscure terrorist groups and explaining his recent conversion to a "pro-life" view. Alessandra Stanley, in The New York Times, saw Romney looking the part of Reagan: "the tan, the Brylcreem hair, the straight white teeth and a voice so smooth and friendly it sounds as if he makes his living doing voice-overs for car commercials." LINK

The Boston Globe's Scott Helman judged it "a largely comfortable, confident performance that left his advisers beaming."LINK

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): Armed with zingers, he scored perhaps the biggest body blow by skewering Romney for suggesting that the US shouldn't spend too much time and money trying to kill Osama bin Laden. But then he looked like an overeager prison guard by grinning ear-to-ear after saying he looked forward to following bin Laden "to the gates of hell." (And can he wear sunglasses next time for lights that seemed brighter than the Arizona sun?) Bill Nichols and Mike Allen of the Politico, a debate co-sponsor, found McCain to be "by far the most aggressive candidate on the stage," though he also risked conservative support by associating himself with Bush's immigration-reform push. LINK