FOR THOSE NOT WATCHING THE GOP DEBATE ... I'd like to note for the record that this observation from John Podhoretz is definitely not one that I share. (J-Pod continues to have odd notions about "wonk.") Podhoretz is, to be sure, correct that John McCain has appeared highly confused throughout the night, but I don't think that has much to do with the substantiveness of his answers.
Meanwhile, Ryan Lizza has already highlighted the Giuliani answer that every other campaign will be flagging. I have a runner-up for most bogus Reagan reference: In the very first answer of the night, Giuliani invoked him in saying that you never, ever back down in the face of terrorism.
Overall, on grounds of both sheer style and substantive effectiveness, I'd say that silky-smooth Mitt Romney and avuncular Mike Huckabee seem to be wiping the floor with the rest of these guys. No-chancer Ron Paul, meanwhile, has been nicely articulating the non-interventionist American Conservative brand of foreign policy throughout.
--Sam Rosenfeld
