The Times/CNN blog, Real Clear Politics, believes the winner on the GOP side was Sen. John McCain.
the guy with all the mojo in New Hampshire didn’t take any hits tonight, he successfully navigated the question of illegal immigration, and he fired off two devastating shots at Mitt Romney. It’s hard to see how McCain doesn’t exit the debate the same way he entered it: the leader of the GOP field.
On the Dem side, they declare Sen. Barack Obama the victor
the GOP field spent a good chunk of the second half of the debate mulling over a scenario involving Barack Obama as the nominee of the Democratic party. Romney, and particularly Huckabee, went out of their way to praise Obama for the message of hope he’s been pushing. Obama couldn’t buy the kind of legitimacy he received tonight – and what a change from a few months ago when the GOP field couldn’t stop talking about Hillary Clinton and Obama never received a mention.
Read GOP Winners & Losers