That’s it, folks.  At least that’s it until after the Republicans and the Democrat-Socialist parties hold their conventions in August and September.  It’s not looking like the Republican candidates want to square off like this again.  They’ve already cancelled a CNN debate in Atlanta on March 1^st, probably because Romney, Paul and others didn’t want to face Newt Gingrich on his own turf. 

We’ll get to some of the highlights and lowlights in a second … but first, a general complaint.  The only time these candidates really focused on Obama – and it wasn’t that intense – was on the issue of contraceptives.  How about a break here? 

• Would you have liked to have heard how ObamaCare is already increasing health care costs?
• What about the effects businesses are already feeling from Dodd-Frank?
• How about a nice discussion on how Obama has fought to reduce oil production on federal lands.
• Wouldn’t a discussion on Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s stated desire for Americans to pay the same for gas that they do in Europe have been timely?

Now if I had been moderating the debate here are just some of the questions that would have been asked.  These questions, of course, show why I will never moderate a debate.

• “Several days after the 2008 the co-chair of Obama’s transition team, Valerie Jarrett, said that Obama would be ready to rule from day one.  How will you characterize your readiness during the transition period?  Will you view yourself as a ruler?”

• “Barack Obama said that he was going to “fundamentally transform” the United States of America.  What do you believe his intentions were when that comment was made, and how do you believe that fundamental transformation is working for us?”

• “Barack Obama has said that America is no more special than Turkey, Greece or any other country.  How do you view the country you want to lead?”

• “Where do you believe America’s greatness comes from?”

• “Educational test scores have not improved one bit since the creation of the Department of Education.  Some studies show that student achievement and scores have decreased.  Can you make an argument for not cutting our budget deficit by eliminating the Department of Education during the first year of your presidency?”

• “Barack Obama has killed a very successful school voucher program in the Nation’s Capitol, yet his children attend a prestigious private school.  As president, would you work to promote school choice for all parents, or reserve that privilege for the well off?”

• “Would you approve of a federal regulation that prohibited union collective bargaining in any school receiving taxpayer funds?”

• “Will you reverse an regulations adopted by the current National Labor Relations Board which make it easy for union organizers to force flash union elections on employers? 

The list is endless … but you get the point.  Someone like me is never going to be turned loose on these characters on national TV. 

Allright .. now for the debate.  Here are a few take-aways from last night’s debate …

Rick Santorum didn’t do well.  He was feeling the surge … feeling that front-runner status, and he became a little too wonkish and long-winded with his responses.  He had few decent lines like the one about Michael Dukakis balancing the budget, but other than that, his long-winded responses could bore the socks off the average American who is used to watching Entertainment Tonight or American Idol. 

The ObamaMedia couldn’t help but bring up the issue of contraception.  True – Obama contributed to this by pandering to the women’s vote with his contraceptives as entitlements ploy.  CNN and John King probably didn’t expect the audible booing from the crowd when the question was raised.  It’s clear that America’s agenda is different from that of the ObamaMedia.  Conservatives want to pick the best person to beat Barack Obama and aren’t really concerned about how a candidate personally feels about birth control; the ObamaMedia wants to re-elect Barack Obama.  Simple as that. 

Newt Gingrich finally found his mojo again.  Not sure what happened to him in the Florida debates, but last night Newt definitely had a lot of great one-liners, in-depth responses and infamous contempt for the ObamaMedia.  Will it be enough to propel him forward in the coming primaries?  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.  We could have done without the slouching though.  Sit up, Newt.  You’re trying to become president.  Talk show hosts slouch, not presidents. 

Mitt Romney had a solid night.  He, too, had a few good one-liners like this response to Rick Santorum over earmarks: “While I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere.”  Did he do enough to convince conservatives that he can carry the torch? Well he certainly didn’t do anything to hurt his cause.

I’m glad that Ron Paul has stuck around this long.  He has nads of steel and is really the only candidate who advocates for liberty and limited government through and through.  Where he loses me is on the foreign policy nonsense.  He thinks that Iran would be a limited threat because they would only have one nuke?  Tell that to the people of Hiroshima.  Clearly, though, Ron Paul was the most entertaining candidate in the room last night.

While I’m glad that the debate started with the issue of our national debt, where was the real discussion on job creation, tax reform, entitlement reform, energy policy?  The overwhelming issue at the top of most Americans’ minds is the economy.  Jobs and the economy.  If you were a casual political observer and you tuned in to this debate, what solutions did you hear from these candidates on these critical issues?  Someone emerging from a 20-year coma to tune in to this debate would have assumed that all major problems facing mankind have been resolved, except for whether or not women should be able to take the pill.  I guess that speaks to CNN, the producers, and the moderator and not necessarily the candidates.

At the end of the day, the question remains: Which one of these guys has what it takes to beat Barack Obama?  Even after last night, I’m afraid I still don’t have an answer, which means that a lot of Americans probably still don’t know either.  And that is not a good thing.