August 11, 2026

GOP Raw: An unabashed review of the Iowa Republican Debate

Tonight was the GOP Debate in Ames, Iowa. Hosted by Fox News, it was pure entertainment.

Minnesotans Bachmann and Pawlenty returned tit for tat, Ron Paul waxed on about getting out of foreign wars, Gingrich whined about the press, Cain was questioned on his knowledge base, Huntsman distinguished himself as the moderate, and Romney walked away unscathed and still the front runner. Oh, and does anyone take Santorum seriously?  While the last debate was relatively blase, tonight the candidates took off the gloves and went at it with all the grace and subtlety of a grade school food fight.

Ok, they weren’t that messy. But they were none too kind to each other. If you missed it, you missed a good piece of cheap entertainment. I tried to offer some live commentary on Twitter and Facebook, but here are my thoughts on each candidate, in seven words or less, after a few minutes of effortless reflection.

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About Daniel Burton

Daniel Burton lives in Salt Lake County, Utah, where he practices law by day and everything else by night. You can follow him on his blog PubliusOnline.com where he muses on politics, the law, books and ideas. He is active on social media, Republican politics, and has been named to PoliticIt’s list of the “Top-50 Utah Political Opinion Leaders” on Twitter. You can reach him directly at dan.burton@gmail.com

Comments

  1. Agree on all, the except feel Huntsman was bigger loser than Pawlenty. Looked miserably uncomfortable and nervous.

    • I agree…I think I even tweeted that he looked ready to vomit.

      Despite that, though, I do think he did a good job on delivery. Articulate, if not strong.