Down by the Dumpster

Blitzed again? The Republicans debated last night, and Wolf Blitzer won again, suggests another “Talk Clock” infographic from Chris Dodd’s campaign.

Among the non-moderators on the stage, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney received roughly twice as much time as each of the other candidates. But Atlantic blogger Matthew Yglesias thinks the “B List” comported itself well, despite the paucity of air time. “To me, a shockingly large and diverse group of B List Republicans — Huckabee, Brownback, Tancredo, and even in their ways Paul and Thompson — are more impressive than the official ‘big three,’ ” Yglesias writes. “They all seemed to me to come much closer than Giuliani, McCain, or Romney to be coming at things from a principle[d], coherent point of view. The top contenders are all ‘Reagan! Terror! Bush! Terror! Reagan! Terreagan!’ and weirdly busy running away from their actual records.”

Among the so-called “B List,” former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee seems to be the candidate with the most potential for garnering, if not an A-minus, then maybe a B-plus from political-theater critics. Marc Ambinder, an associate editor at The Atlantic who has a new blog with the oddly descriptive title “A Reported Blog on Politics,” has caught Huckabee Fever: “Three debates, three worthy performances for Huckabee,” Ambinder writes. “Unfortunately, none of these debates have been widely broadcast in Iowa, and Huckabee’s organization seems [incapable], as of yet, of harnessing his hard work during the debates.”

Another “second-tier” candidate, Rep. Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, said during the debate that immigrants should cut all ties with their country of origin when they come to the United States. Time magazine’s Ana Marie Cox deduces, “Tancredo wants to outlaw St. Patrick’s Day.”

What about the A list? Former House majority leader Dick Armey still doesn’t like any of them. “I’m of the same opinion now that I was before the debate,” writes Armey, who is guest-blogging at Swampland. “The eventual winner of the Republican nomination is probably not in the field right now, and sadly, neither are many of the issues.” Unanswered in Armey’s post: Which non-candidate does he support, Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich?

— Chris Suellentrop