Republican Debates!!!

I watched the Republican debates last night.  Overall it was a good night, and very interesting. 
I think Mitt Romney did pretty well.  He always does pretty well, but never quite good enough to steal the show.  He just seems too polished and contrived.  It's like everything he said was extensively focus-group tested before he was willing to say it. 
Rick Perry clearly is the frontrunner now.  He jumped into the lead as soon as he entered, and now is the prohibitive favorite.  You could tell that he was just warming up last night.  He was strong, but not as strong as he can be, and had a few miscues.  Everyone including the moderators ganged up on him, and tried to make him look as bad as they could.  I really liked how honest he was about Social Security.  It is painful to watch all the other candidates contort themselves into trying to say that it is a wonderful program that just needs a few tweaks and it will be right back to good.  Perry steps up and tells the truth: it is going bankrupt, and is threatening to take the country with it.  He is bold, and willing to take on the third rail of politics.  It might be his undoing, but if he pulls it off, he will be doing the country a favor. 
After those two, my next favorite is Newt Gingrich.  It is such a shame how he torpedoed his campaign a week after starting it.  Ever since, he has been crawling his way back up, but it will take a near perfect performance to get back in the lead now, and he simply isn't that consistent of a campaigner.  It's a shame, because he has a lot to offer the country. 
Michele Bachmann is steadily slipping in the polls.  I like her, and hope she uses this exposure to become a true force in the House, and maybe run again the next time the cycle is open.  I do not think that with as little experience as she has that she can pull off an upset, especially now that Perry has stolen her thunder. 
Cain, and Santorum are both decent guys that have a lot to offer, and some of their ideas need to be cannabalized by the frontrunner, but they simply are not going to be the candidate. 
Paul and Huntsman leave me scratching my head.  What are these guys trying to do?