Romney blows the S.C. debate

Mitt Romney was far from stellar in Monday night’s debate. In the final smackdown ahead of this Saturday’s South Carolina primary, the front-runner was clearly protecting the goal.
From the opening he was tentative, offering a tepid defense of his record as a capitalist. Too often through the night he fell back to rehearsed answers that had little to do with the question asked.
He was rattled in an exchange with Rick Santorum over whether felons should be allowed to vote, and rambled all over the place on whether he would release his tax returns. I still don’t know if he will or he won’t.
When short,succinct answers would have done perfectly well, he instead offered lengthy and often incoherent responses.
Romney was playing not to lose, instead of siezing the opportunity to deal his opponents a death blow.
I was looking for a vigorous defense of Bain Capital, and how the tough decisions he made there are fine preparation for the tough decisions the next president will have to make in regards to government efficiency and spending cuts.
He didn’t give it. He avoided his challengers except when directly confronted.
There were a few good moments for Romney, including his common sense denouncement of McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws.
But for most of the night he allowed Gingrich and Santorum to steal dominate the stage.
Gingrich won the debate. If that translates to a big day in South Carolina Saturday, this could be back to a serious two-man race heading into Florida.