The CBS News/National Journal debate Saturday night was the first to focus on foreign policy, and it generated fewer fireworks - but more substance - than many of its predecessors. For that reason we aren't going to simply list winners and losers this time around and instead discuss the candidates' performances - though we're still putting those we thought did best at the top.
Special Report: The CBS News/National Journal Debate
Mitt Romney: Romney has been better than his rivals in presidential debates so often that it's gotten to the point where a strong performance - as he had in this debate - feels almost ho-hum. Romney managed to be hawkish on issues like Iran while also leaving himself a little breathing room, playing to a Republican base that still views him skeptically.
And despite being widely seen as the frontrunner for the nomination, Romney didn't take any serious blows from his rivals. (Gingrich notably declined to elaborate on his not-so-veiled criticism of Romney as little more than a competent manager who wouldn't change Washington.) Romney's only cause for concern: If he's supposed to be the man to beat, why aren't his rivals more eager to take him down?
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