Giuliani Stumbles, Leaving GOP Field Wide Open

After several months of delay, eight Republican candidates faced off to debate questions posed by real people in St. Petersburg, Fla. Viewers didn't have to wait long for the action to commence.

In stark contrast to the Democratic YouTube debate, the questioning remained relatively tame -- not one question from a snowman. But the candidates cared little about the questions, preferring to throw pre-prepared bombs at their opponents. Rudy Giuliani took the most damage. I'm guessing his reign as the GOP front-runner will come to an end soon.

There seems to be an unwritten rule that all Republican debates must include illegal immigration. It leads to the usual discussion of "my fence will be better and higher than the other guy's fence." (Rep. Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.) has bestowed this Highest Fence award on himself. Congrats, Congressman.)

In seriousness, immigration has been a particular weakness for Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Giuliani. One can sense that McCain remains upset over the immigration bill's demise, and his retracted support comes off as insincere. He also prefers a bit more civility than Rep. Tom Tancredo, (R., Colo.), who would rather just start deporting everyone.

Giuliani didn't support the immigration bill, but he has taken considerable heat from Mitt Romney's campaign for running a "sanctuary city" while mayor of New York. Giuliani tried to return fire tonight, claiming the former Massachusetts governor ran a "sanctuary mansion," implying that Romney had employed undocumented workers at his home. The missive didn't find its mark, however. Giuliani was roundly booed by the boisterous crowd, which behaved as if at a sporting event.