Perry did okay, but will have to raise his game. His answer on AGW was okay, but he needs to master that issue. AGW proponents are part of the reason we have fewer jobs and are finding it difficult to get out of recession.

I was surprised by Huntsman. He made good points until…..the bit about AGW. Oh no! Do your homework, sir.

The other candidates acquitted themselves well.

Bachmann keeps turning the questions back to those things she has credibilty on. Family values, fighting big government, and standing up to Islamism. She needs a jobs plan because that is what is going to win or lose the election.

I like Herman Cain. He may be a good VP choice.

Newt was Newt again. Feisty, with lots of ideas, many of them good. He, unfortunately, outlined an idea in education that would (oh, no!) involve more government control. Not good, Newt.

Santorum can’t get any traction. He looks and speaks well, but his resume is not as impressive as Romney or Perry or even Huntsman. He did have a decent answer about why a Catholic can be against welfare as it exists.

I am like Stephen Green (Vodkapundit) when it comes to Ron Paul. Even though I think of myself as a small l Libertarian, I find Paul does a poor job of representing Libertarian ideas. Also, small l Libertarians don’t believe in the isolationism that he represents. That said, if by chance he is the candidate against Obama, I will vote for him. ANYBODY BUT OBAMA -2012!!

And if Romney is the nominee, that will also encourage another (not inconsiderable) segment of Democrats to turn out and quiety pull the lever for him, since it seems that there will be no opportunity to vote against Obama in a primary.

“These questions were clearly fair game, but the phrasing and tone of the moderator made them seem far more akin to a scene from the Spanish Inquisition. Honestly, by the end of the evening I had lost track of the number of questions which were far less solicitations of opinion and policy than accusations. It was as if Brian Williams and company were looking for the candidates to apologize for being conservatives. As the night progressed, it became clear that the hosts would be severely disappointed.”

Especially here: Rick Perry defends death penalty

When I first moved to the Austin area, we Texans would say “I’d love to live in Austin but I can’t make a living there.” Austin was pretty much a state government and university town. It had only two high tech facilities of any size outside of university research facilities…a Texas Instruments plant and a fledgling IBM typewriter plant.

The highest priced home listing in MLS was a $450K home on Lake Austin. Truth.

Since then, Austin has become a high tech center. As an example, Dell Computer was started here by a UT student selling home made computers out of the trunk of his car. IBM, Motorola and AMD have huge facilities here. The Austin American Statesman has a steady stream of articles about Internet start ups and Austin based high tech companies going public.

The highest priced homes in Austin now go for multiple millions each. The real estate market has almost taken on a California flavor (probably because so many Californians have moved here).

I’m sure Houston is booming too with engineering opportunities in the oil and chemical industry.

Tourism is growing…especially in and around San Antonio.

A full spectrum of jobs, both low wage and high paying have been added to the Texas economy.

Texas has pretty much been booming my entire (74 year old) life. Why is that? Because our population is hard working and entrepreneurial and because our state has common sense policies that encourage business.

Perry has lived in and been an important politician in that environment. He has absorbed the lessons taught here.

I also agree (as I never tire of complaining on this site) that Romney is a horrible candidate who is VERY beatable. His flaws are almost enough to make him a “no support unless he wins the nomination” guy for me. Almost. Because IF Perry is going to perform in debates with Obama as he did tonight, his chances of losing top Romney’s. I am by no means “decided,” as this is a running tally sort of deal. Yet for now, I have no choice but to be a completely frigid supporter of Romney. I pray that Perry or someone else can make me change my mind.

The only clear winner: Sarah Palin.

It might be a clue that the two individuals who did the best are the two individuals most appealing to the Democrats. Kind of reminds me of “Miller’s Crossing” where Johnny Casper says, “It’s gettin’ so a businessman can’t expect no return from a fixed fight.”