ABC NEWS NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATES

Evening 1/5/08

as scored by Steve Fair

REPUBLICANS

John McCain- 45

Overall good performance- immigration is his "soft spot" and he sparred with Romney on that issue.

Fred Thomspon-47

Folksy, funny, and quick on his feet. Performed like he did on a good episode of Law & Order

Ron Paul-27

Never deals with the question asked- always answers with his message- get out of Iraq and quit printing money.

Mitt Romney-35

Weak performance- showed his anger- was attacked by McCain and Huckabee- got more time than any of the other candidates, but was ineffective. Showed his anger during an exchange with McCain.

Mike Huckabee-54

Good performance, especially on contrast between he and Obama- none of the others were as effective on that answer. A little tentative, but overall stayed above the fray.

Rudy Guiliani-52

Typical Rudy- stayed on message- is not reactive- should avoid the tendency to "recap" the debate issue.

DEMOCRATS
John Edwards- 49

His southern tang will hurt him in New England, but overall performance was solid- his getting the lobbyists out of politics is great- too bad he doesn't feel the same way about trial lawyers. Stood up for Obama.

Barrack Obama- 48

Smooth, even under attack. Speaks in generalities, only negative moment was when he said Hillary was "likable enough."

Bill Richardson- 42

Avoided direct answers to the questions- repeated his accomplishments as governor four times. Appeared very tired.

Hillary Clinton- 52

Showed passion, but also appeared tired. She was the target of Obama and Edward but also attacked Obama when he said she was not for "change." Her comment that she had been a part of change for 30 plus years was quick on her feet.