Who won Saturday’s Iowa debate?

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Full disclosure: I did not watch Saturday’s GOP debate. I’m trying to watch as many Breaking Bad episodes as I can on Netflix streaming before it disappears. I wonder if Atlanta magazine would have hired me if they knew I was addicted to meth-based fiction.

Anyway, it turns I may have missed a doozy. Online reactions to the debate indicate that this blog’s namesake commanded the stage. My favorite write-up is John Heilemann’s in New York magazine. A snippet:

[H]e landed the single best punch of the night, which, fortuitously, happened to be on Romney’s jaw. After the former Massachusetts governor tried to claim that the “real distinction” between him and Gingrich was that Romney had “spent his life in the private sector,” Newt shot back: “The only reason you didn’t become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.” This was not only sharp, funny, and palatably mean, but also had the cardinal virtue of being perfectly true. (Indeed, it’s amazed me for months that no one has called Romney on this canard until now.)

Andrew Sullivan & team compiled (as usual) the best round-up of the professional commentariat’s reactions. And the New York Times‘ supreme statwatcher Nate Silver noted that the debate political bettors at Intrade sold Romney shares after the debate and bought Newt. Romney’s still ahead in the betting, but Newt is gaining fast

Also, Tiffany’s stock is down this morning, which suggests Newt and his team are busy.

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