The September 5 Republican Debate

Was his former (not to say "old") jaunty, jokey, confident, straight-talking self. If you didn't know that Washington has declared his candidacy on life support, you would have assumed him the frontrunner from his cool, commanding performance. Pulled his punches when asked directly about his earlier remarks suggesting Giuliani does not have comparable national security experience, but directly challenged Romney by firmly asserting that the surge in Iraq is working. Surely left the debate stage pumped up and optimistic.

— By Mark Halperin