The first big time debate for the 2012 Presidential race in New Hampshire went about as expected for the seven Republicans who gathered last night at Saint Anselm's College, as they all joined in expressing their strong opposition to another four years for President Barack Obama.
"President Obama is a one-term President," said Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) to cheers in the debate hall.
Bachmann may have created the most "news" in the event, by announcing that she had filed papers to officially start a Presidential campaign.
With a bare minimum of barbs directed at each other, the GOP love fest instead turned into a party-wide indictment of the Obama Administration on all levels.
"And when 14 million Americans are out of work, we need a new president to end the Obama depression," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose debate performance included no mentions of his campaign staff troubles of recent days.
As for frontrunner Mitt Romney, he faced no difficult attack lines or questions, as the others started their task of sorting out who will be the main opponent for Romney in coming months.
"Any one of the people on this stage would be a better President than President Obama," Romney said to cheers.
CNN moderator John King tried repeatedly to get Romney to tangle with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, but neither took the bait.
Pawlently in fact sidestepped when repeatedly given the chance to smash Romney over his health reform law in Massachusetts and the similarities to the Obama health reforms, which Pawlenty on Sunday labeled Obamney Care.
But instead of grabbing onto that moniker, Pawlenty tried his best not to say anything really bad about Romney, who was just a few lecterns over.
"President Obama is -- is the person who I quoted in saying he looked to Massachusetts for designing his program. He's the one who said it's a blueprint and that he merged the two programs. And so using the term "Obamneycare" was a reflection of the president's comments that he designed Obamacare on the Massachusetts health care plan," said Pawlenty.
As for others, Herman Cain tried to play off his outsider status by using the start of the debate as a chance to introduce himself to the voters of the Granite State.
"Hello, I'm Herman Cain. I am not a politician. I am a problem-solver with over 40 years of business and executive experience," Cain said.
Both Cain and former Sen. Rick Santorum were the only two candidates to come into the spin room on their own after the debate.
Really though, there wasn't much to spin. No one from Ron Paul to Mitt Romney had a terrible gaffe to spin.
Expect things to change in the weeks and months ahead, as the field will have to go after Romney more directly, or risk letting him get too far ahead in the race for the GOP nomination.
