[bray]

Romney lost this debate. He came across as a petulant little silver spooned brat.

Pray for America

[Cincinatus' Wife]

.....He came across as a petulant little silver spooned brat.

And only Romney laid his hand on Gov. Perry, unlike the article that states they touched each other.

Mitt is a bully who doesn't like to be challenged or contradicted. The 2008 exchange linked above with Rudy shows the same denial and then his angry streak and vulnerability.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

I think Romney looked better in those exchanges than did Perry, especially since Romney's point about contractors who hire illegals who use false names/SSN's is valid. In many case, employers simply cannot know. And if you're hiring a contractor, you really don't have a way to check immigration status yourself.

However, I think Romney made a huge mistake elsewhere, and I don't see much comment on it. At some point, in defending Romneycare, he attempted to distinguish it from ObamaCare by saying that in Massachusetts, people buy their insurance from "private insurance companies", not "from the government." But ObamaCare doesn't really include a "public option" at all. Like RomenyCare, ObamaCare sets up those exchanges in which private insurers provide the actual insurance, heavily regulated by government.

In other words, by drawing a false distinction between RomneyCare and ObamaCare, Romney actually pointed out a major similarity.