WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING ABOUT GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY AT THE SECOND REAGAN LIBRARY DEBATE

National Review's Jim Geraghty: "When Romney takes his shots at McCain, it's both strong and fair - he acknowledges that McCain has some areas in which he's a conservative, but he takes several fair shots - McCain Feingold; voting against the Bush tax cuts twice (McCain noted earlier that he had voted to make them permanent)." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com, Posted 1/30/08)

· Geraghty: "I like that Romney says that the original version of the McCain-Kennedy immigration legislation wasn't so bad, and that it got worse as it moved through the process. It shows familiarity with the legislative details." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com, Posted 1/30/08)

· Geraghty: "'Let me help you with the facts, Senator.' Wow. Romney nails him for pointing out the study McCain is referring to in his answer about job creation and loss includes his predecessor, Jane Swift, who lost many jobs on her watch." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com, Posted 1/30/08)

· Geraghty: "Where the heck has this Romney been? He just calmly and clearly took McCain to school." (Jim Geraghty, " How Rarely I Get To Write This: Romney Takes McCain To School," National Review's The Campaign Spot, http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com, Posted 1/30/08)

The American Spectator's John Tabin: "Romney corrects some of McCain's facts – McCain confused Romney's lieutenant governor with his predecessor, among other things. I think Romney won this exchange." (John Tabin, "Romney Vs. McCain," The American Spectator Blog, www.spectator.org, Posted 1/30/08)

CNN's Bill Schneider: "Romney's response scores big points with conservatives – and with a lot of Americans who aren't conservative." (Bill Schneider, "Big Points For Romney On Immigration," CNN's Political Ticker, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, Posted 1/30/08)

· Schneider: "Romney is winning this big-time — McCain's wrong. We already have timetables for everything in Iraq, whether we stick to them or adjust them later on." (Bill Schneider, "Romney Has McCain On The Ropes," CNN's Political Ticker Blog, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com, Posted 1/30/08)

National Review's Mark Hemmingway: "Not that I needed anyone to tell me the McCain-Lieberman cap-and-trade program is a bad idea, but Romney's dissection of it was clear and compelling." (Mark Hemmingway, "Not That I Needed Anyone," National Review's The Corner, http://corner.nationalreview.com=, Posted 1/30/08)

Captains Quarters' Ed Morrissey: "Romney dominating near the close -this debate is owned by Mitt." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Dominating Near The Close," Heading Right, http://headingright.com/, Posted 1/30/08)

· Morrissey: "Romney's Playing Ball Control. He's answering in depth, and by doing so he gets more air time. He's using the format to his advantage." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Dominating Near The Close," Heading Right, http://headingright.com/, Posted 1/30/08)

· Morrissey: "Romney is getting the best of this exchange … Romney does a good job of keeping the tone even and factual while scolding McCain for getting the data incorrect." (Ed Morrissey, "Romney Is Getting The Best Of This Exchange," Heading Right Blog, http://headingright.com/, Posted 1/30/07)

Commentary Magazine's John Podhoretz: "Mitt Romney is doing a great job. Very commanding. He's far more substantive than McCain." (John Podhoretz, "Mitt Romney," Commentary Magazine, http://www.commentarymagazine.com/, Posted 1/30/08)

Ankle Biting Pundits' Bull Dog Pundit: "We're 45 minutes in and I'm not going to go point by point, but I have to say that Romney is hitting the notes he needs to." (Bull Dog Pundit, "GOP Debate," Ankle Biting Pundits, http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/, Posted 1/30/08)

· Bull Dog Pundit: "Purely on substance Romney hit it exactly right when he started talking about the need for entitlement reform. When he said we have to 'change the deal' on Social Security and Medicaid for people in their 40's I almost stood up and cheered. He also did a great job of pointing out John McCain's conservative apostasies." (Bull Dog Pundit, "GOP Debate," Ankle Biting Pundits, http://www.anklebitingpundits.com/, Posted 1/30/08)

Heading Right's Douglas Gibbs: "Romney's expertise …and knowledge of economics and facts is outshining his opponents." (Douglas Gibbs, "Romney's Expertise," Heading Right Blog, http://headingright.com/, Posted 1/30/07)

Heading Right's Faust Wertz: "Romney's answers are great … Clear, to the point but explaining what needs to be explained, and he looks comfortable." (Faust Wertz, "Romney's Answers Are Great," http://headingright.com/, Heading Right Blog, Posted 1/30/07)