Romney stumbled in uncharacteristic fashion tonight as Santorum gained ground by calling out the former governor on his super-pac's misleading allegations surrounding granting convicted felons the right to vote. Santorum pointed out that Romney's position on the issue as governor of Massachusetts was to the left of his own. Senator Santorum clarified that he voted to grant felons the right to vote only after they had paid their debts to society by fully serving their time, including any probationary period. Governor Romney clearly had a difficult time defending himself on the issue. When asked to demand that his super-pac stop the unfair attack, Romney insisted that he had no power to do so, making him appear disingenuous.
Romney also appeared to be dodging a commitment to release his income tax return and provide full financial disclosure, struggling in his response to leave himself future "wiggle room" to backtrack. Romney's halfhearted, self-imposed deadline to fess up comes due in April, noticeably and somewhat conveniently after the primary process is over.
Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich both performed well tonight, but their conservative standing continues to erode as they both persist in attacking Governor Romney from the left. Neither Perry or Romney sufficiently assuaged conservative doubts concerning their fidelity to capitalism tonight. They both picked the wrong bone to chew and it continues to come back to bite them in the buns. They were unfortunately prompted by a questioner to continue attacking Romney in the same vein, and they did not disappoint.
Ron Paul lost the crowd with what has come to be known among conservatives as his "blame America first" patter.
Finally, it was a pleasure to see the enthusiastic and rowdy crowd tonight, alternately cheering and booing as the mood struck. They seemed to be having fun.
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