We're back in Manchester, New Hampshire, the Republican candidates are live on stage - so what's different to yesterday? I hope something is. For now all I can say with certainty is that it's on Fox News and there is no Ron Paul. Read on for more ...
8pm ET - all times ET: Mitt Romney is asked about tax. He says lower taxes are good, help the economy grow, Ronald Reagan believed in them, etc. Then in moves in with the first attack of the night - announcing that John McCain voted against Bush's tax cuts.
8.05pm: McCain plays his own Reagan card. He says he was a congressional foot soldier in the Reagan revolution and while he voted for tax cuts, he also voted to restrain spending. He says he wants to bring the deficit down.
8.10pm: Romney and Mike Huckabee, sat next to each other, are now attacking each other on their gubernatorial tax records. Shorter version: Huckabee raised taxes after a court order compelled him to; Huckabee accuses Romney of not supporting the Bush tax cuts.
8.15pm: Rudy Giuliani boasts of his tax cuts when New York City mayor. "I don't just talk about supply side. I made it work." Fred Thompson is then asked about his tax policies and plans for social security (pensions). I'm not sure this matters.
8.20pm: Thompson's social security plan is to cut the amount paid out to new retirees on a moderate income. Romney tells him that is not politically acceptable. McCain says he appluads Thompson's courage.
8.25pm: Romney says he knows how business works and has made tough decisions on failing companies. He says Washington needs some of that too. This followed a video clip of Huckabee talking about Romney as looking like "the guy who laid you off" so I'm assuming the Romney campaign is now taking this as a complement.
8.30pm: Giuliani is reminiscing about his days bringing "workfare" to New York. Huckabee's idea for a national sales tax to replace income tax is raised, while Thompson speaks up for a modified flat tax at different grades for high and low earners. Thompson is definitely on the rightwing thinktank side of the field.
8.35pm: We have the change word. McCain says he brought change by backing the Iraq surge. "I don't know of a better change than saving American lives," he says. Romney says "Washington in broken" and argues he can be a leader who brings change. Naval veteran McCain replies that he is a leader too - but he led for patriotism, not profit. I do like McCain's digs at Romney, but they are not enough to sustain me through the change-through-experience meme.
8.40pm: Just when I want to shout STOP TALKING ABOUT CHANGE JUST BECAUSE OBAMA DOES at the TV, Thompson introduces a note of calmness and observes that change is a factor in all elections. Who'd have thought it?
8.45pm: Amusing moment after the ad break when one of those deep menacing voices you get on attacks is overlaid over a clip of Romney talking about national security in Iowa. Afterwards, he says America is better off with a governor than a senator for president, because former governors have "skills and expertise" as an executive leader even if they don't necessary know that much about what happens in the rest of the world.
McCain chips in with "Waziristan" as he advances his argument that a senator (ok, him) who has travelled a lot and dealt with complex international issues would make a better president than a governor (ok, Romney). He also notes that governors-turned-presidents aren't always amazing.
Romney closes with what sounds like an audition for the Apprentice. He goes through the skillset he says would make him a good president, I'm assuming he calls it a skillset.
8.55pm: McCain says he knows how to get Bin Laden - that has to be a votewinner. It involves more resources for human intelligence.
9pm: McCain and Romney reprise their immigration argument. McCain looks weary, as if he has said it too many times, as he explains that Romney originally described his (defeated) immigration plan in 2005 plan as "quite different to amnesty". Fox News puts Romney's quote to the Boston Globe on the screen.
9.10pm: We are now into finding out who would be toughest on illegal immigrants. What's interesting is neither Huckabee or Giuliani were unreasonable to illegal immigrants in Arkansas or New York City, so there is a lot of defence of their record ("You have to educate children," says Huckabee) and a lot of talk about building a fence to "fix the problem" at the border.
9.15pm: Huckabee is asked about his description of Romney's campaign as "dishonest". He says it took courage to pull his attack ads in Iowa (you remember he did however show them to the press) and attributes his win partially to it. Romney says he spent a lot on ads but most of them were positive ... hang on, this is great - Romney is explaining the difference between an attack ad (based on character attacks) and attacks on a opponent's record. I can't quite put my finger on it, but Romney looks to be holding up his hands (metaphorically speaking) on several issues tonight.
9.25pm: Asked if he is a flipflopper, Romney says there is no one around the table (it's a sitting debate) who hasn't changed their mind at one time. More weak spots: Giuliani is asked about Bernie Kerik (says the prosecution won't embarrass him); McCain is asked about his age (says he is "older than dirt" but Reagan was older than him in his second term.)
9.30pm: Winding up with the why vote for you question. Giuliani says he has been "tested" and can give America the leadership he needs. Thompson says he has never lost an election (just wait till Tuesday) and Huckabee says he can connect with ordinary people. McCain says he can reach out to independents and energise Republicans.
9.33pm: That's it. All done. Fox's restuarant focus group packed full of undecided voters has given it to Romney. One woman was impressed by his "corporate leadership", one man applauds his conciseness. Thompson wins hands down as the least impressive candidate. Opinions below please.
Update: JoshuaMostafa in the comments on the focus group: "Morons".
