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It’s getting better all the time… the title line from the Beatles’ “Getting Better” popped into my head last night as I watched the third in what is becoming a movable feast of Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for president (the Democrats apparently are opting for more of a packed lunch approach as they prefer to pick and choose who will have the “honor” of hosting their scrimmages). It’s getting better because the party is learning more and more about the candidates and the frontrunners are starting to develop more than just financial reasons for why they should be leading the pack.

Last night’s CPC (Competitive Press Conference) featured the usual questions about the war in Iraq, immigration and even a little bit about health care. Even CNN’s lousy production quality (barely improved from Sunday’s butt shot and stool fest) and moderator Wolf Bitzer’s wet noodle talktime-hogging approach (see graphic from of all places Chris Dodd’s site!) was unable to ruin a fairly informative meeting (memo to CNN - please, please, please find somebody else to moderate the next CPC, Blitzer sucks… sorry, but I happen to view these debates as a form of entertainment and watching Wolf is less appealing to me than going to the dentist).

While many think last night’s CPC was an empty chair debate with the GOP faithful waiting for FRED (or as Mike Huckabee likes to call him - ‘Mighty Mouse’) to save the day, I think it may have been a very pivotal night for the GOP field. With FRED likely to participate in the next CPC August 5th in Des Moines, last night may have been the last chance for a second-tier candidate to move up. If all of the current candidates stay in the race for the next CPC they’ll have 11 people vying for attention. FRED will get the most and Rudy McRomney will get the majority of the balance which will leave very little opportunity for the rest of the field.

Having said that, here’s my scorecard (from top to bottom) for last night:

1. Rudy Giuliani: It’s becoming apparent that Rudy’s New York upbringing is serving him well in the debates. Last night he was quick with his responses, able to deflect criticism and energetic in his delivery. Nobody on the stage could match him. What’s beginning to make him look even more formidable is his ability to provide specifics. As the man who managed New York City out of its duldrums he even referred to using a variation of his STATS program for fixing the problems in Iraq. On my scorecard he was head and shoulders above the rest.
2. Mitt Romney: The stepford candidate continues to smooth talk his way through the field. It doesn’t matter if what he says is correct (last night he claimed that one of the reasons for the Iraq war is that Saddam Hussein kicked the UN Weapons Inspectors out of his country and if they had been able to do their jobs we might have avoided the war - which is true if he was talking about 1998… in reality it was President Bush who recalled the inspectors, who had returned to Iraq in 2002, so that he could begin bombing). Nonetheless Mitt’s statement was swallowed hook, line and sinker last night and other than Paul Begala pointing it out after the debate on CNN, I have seen no one else asking Romney to clarify. His limited understanding of the don’t ask don’t tell policy also deserves some scrutiny. Sometimes it’s how you say it and not what you say, and Mitt says it so well nobody seems to bother to listen. Last night showed why he can get away with it.
3. 

   Mike Huckabee: I have not been a Huckabee fan, but out of the second-tier of candidates he was by far the best. I don’t agree with his positions on much of anything, but his background as a Methodist Baptist minister and sense of humor allowed him to steal the show with his discussion of faith and playful interaction with the rest of the candidates.
4. Duncan Hunter: The California congressman did well in the early portions when discussing immigration, but in the second hour he faded as a mean streak started to show.
5. Jim Gilmore: I’m a huge fan of the former Virginia governor, but he missed his chance last night to demonstrate his conservative credentials and plans before FRED sucks up all of the oxygen. The governor needs to back up his true conservative rhetoric with real specifics as to how he will make America better. He may have provided one of the best lines of the night though by suggesting that those in positions of power “ought to read at least that kind of material.” before sending people to war ( a direct reference to the intelligence briefing that was circulated on Capitol Hill prior to the Iraqi War vote which many including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and John McCain did not read).
6. John McCain: Nothing is worse than watching a campaign fade. The senator from Arizona did better than almost half of the field, but his stance on the war paired with his position on immigration is the kiss of death. His bright spot last night was in consoling an audience member who recently lost a loved one in Iraq. Unfortunately, the president has to be more than just a consoler in chief. Also, I’d like to hear McCain say something that I haven’t heard (verbatim) from him before. Even though he finished in the middle, by nature of his frontrunner status he was a big loser for finishing so far back.
7. Sam Brownback: He was there, but his performance did little if anything to interest me.
8. tommy thompson: tommy tries to be funny, but his punchlines hit like a spoonful of sludge. His one bright spot involved a health care question which he handled well (of course it was the only question he should handle well).
9. Ron Paul: Nothing to say other than a message for the legion of internet trolls searching for his name on the web… here it is.
10. Tom Tancredo: His position on immigration would be stronger if he didn’t sound like Elmer Fudd when he talked about it. He also gives me reason to believe that if this was a different time and place, he might have a white sheet and hood hanging in his closet.

One final thought: this field is way too large (and getting bigger). With this many candidates Republicans are not helping to nominate a candidate prepared to do one-on-one battle with the Democrat’s nominee. The field needs to be pared down by summer’s end or a different approach should be considered for these events.