Man. Ron Paul has aged. he’s not as articulate or as coherent as four years ago. It’s not quite McCain ’08 vs. McCain ’00 territory, but it’s close, and it’s sad. (Although he did get off one of the best zingers of the night, asking if everyone in the room would use heroin if it were legal).
I like Gary Johnson. He comes across as an authentically nice dude. He’s focused on the budget and is actually willing to give up other things for it, which I respect; he’s grounded and realistic enough to not expect something for nothing. He’s also brave enough to call the Republicans out on sentencing policy, which makes me adore him. And he’s unelectable.

Mr. Cain, the pizza mogul, is like an unexperienced bland version of Gary Johnson. He’s also the only person to have seen Bill Richardson’s counting habit and decided to emulate it.

I wanted to like Tim Pawlenty. But … his smile is fake, his positions are inconsistent, and his demeanor makes my skin crawl.

And then there’s Rick Santorum. Who, when asked the question in exactly this framing, agreed that it’s more important to kill Obamacare than it is to avoid defaulting on the national debt.

I mean. Really. I loathe the man. He could say the best things in the world, things which in any other politician’s mouth would leave me on my knees begging for more, and I would be unmoved. But. Really? It’s more important to end Obamacare than it is to avoid defaulting on the debt?

That’s fucking terrifying.