Just sat down to watch it. John Hawkins has is live blogging it as usual. I’ll update if I have any thought, but I’m tired so I might avoid thinking all together.
UPDATE:
Dude. I’m watching off DVR, so I’m a little behind, but Fred Thompson just creamed Huckabee (almost explicitly calling him a Democrat after listing his policies) and the crowd went wild — first applause of the night, I believe. Not a good sign for Huckabee that him finally getting thoroughly trashed caused such a cathartic release.
UPDATE 2:
Ron Paul finally gets asked about his Truther nuts, and he dodges it like the moral coward he is.
UPDATE 3:
Here’s video of Fred Thompson dropping the hammer on Huckabee (via Hot Air who has more video including his “virgins” line). Must see.

UPDATE 4:
BTW, there was a great moment during the Iran question where Ron Paul gets laughed and just stands there looking confused. I think that pretty much sums up his whole candidacy.
UPDATE 5:
The split screens of McCain looking bemused while Ron Paul talks are hilarious.
UPDATE 6:
In response to a questioner pointing out that Huckabee raised taxes in Arkansas, he responded that he also raised… (wait for it)… “hope.”
He should lose the support of any self-respecting man after that answer. That’s a line I’d expect from Edwards.
UPDATE 7:
I can’t tell you where I heard this, but I have it on a good source that Osama bin Laden is hiding out on Ron Paul’s blimp.
UPDATE 8:
In case no one mentioned it, they call McCain the sheriff.
UPDATE 9:
Dang. The DVR cut off the end. Last thing I saw was Ron Paul talking about immigration (one of the few places he doesn’t sound crazy). What I’d miss?
It looked like Fred Thompson was really on fire tonight, but I thought it was a good night for McCain since he comes off as very knowledgeable on Iraq and no one really went after him on his amnesty.
BTW, here’s the Ron Paul moment I talked about earlier.
UPDATE 10:
It looks like about everyone in The Corner thinks Fred Thompson ran away with it. Maybe NR should rethink their Romney endorsement.
That reminds me: The mystery Fred Thompson endorser should be revealed tomorrow…
Now this almost sounds like hyperbole, but it’s pretty much true. Well, give if you can. It’s looking like Fred Thompson (who I was just talking to earlier today) is going to get some huge momentum out of this (apparently the Frank Luntz focus group loved him, so it’s not only the pundits) and the media won’t be able to ignore him, but he has to keep up until the South Carolina primary a week from Saturday. He really can win this, but it’s going to take a strong showing in SC to get lemming Republicans from jumping off the McCain or Huckabee cliffs.
UPDATE 11:
I thought I should put this video up again in celebration:

Get hyped!
UPDATE 12:
Apparently part of Fred Thompson’s performance tonight was because the spreading of the rumor about him dropping out after Iowa to endorse McCain really pissed him off.

Guess who I just got off the phone with?
FRED THOMPSON!
Yep, blogger conference call with Fred Thompson himself. All those years of blogging have finally paid off. It was awesome. I had the phone on speaker, and as soon as Fred Thompson started talking, even the dog sat up straight to listen. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a question in (those other bloggers were vicious, even interrupting the Senator to get a question in; I just wasn’t quick enough). I was going to ask if his campaign will put out an official stance on hippies.
Anyway, expect big things in the debate tonight (no quarter for RINOs!), and there is going to be a huge conservative endorsement that will be announced tomorrow. Also, Fred Thompson is going to be on Sean Hannity’s radio show pretty soon (3:15 PM ET).
Now is the time to help Fred Thompson in his push in South Carolina. Something like 43% of Republicans there are undecided, and only those who picked Fred Thompson are extremely firm on their choice. Do what you can, donate what you can, and we can get an actual conservative as our candidate. Otherwise, things are going to get boring this year, and the Democrats better nominate Hillary and she better be extra evil just so I have something interesting to blog about.
I’ll try and find audio and transcript of the call and update this post with it as soon as I find it.

UPDATE:
Matt Lewis asked if Fred Thompson is going to bring a celebrity to South Carolina to compete with Chuck Norris. That’s a stupid idea. Any celebrity is just going to look small standing next to Fred Thompson.
UPDATE 2:
Are you guys going to get annoyed if any time in the future I mention the name “Fred Thompson” I add “who I was just talking to the other day”?
UPDATE 3:
Thoughts on the call from Johnathan Adler and Ed Morrisey (who recorded it).
UPDATE 4:
Jim Geraghty has a rush transcript, and, yes, that was me who said the thing about Bruce Lee.
UPDATE 5:
Reactions from Dan Riehl and Bryan Preston.
UPDATE 6:
BTW, go ahead and speculate in the comments who the big endorsement for Fred Thompson tomorrow is going to be. They wouldn’t give us any hints, but they did hype it. Maybe it’s God Himself!

If the Republicans are so foolish as to fail to nominate Fred Thompson, what are your plans? I’m going to stock up on canned food and shotguns to ride out the rough period.

So, what is wrong with Republican primary voters? Have they gone mad with power of being able to pick a presidential candidate? Are they Skrulls who have infiltrated the Republican Party to destroy it from the inside? Are they just morons?
Well, we better sort it out before the South Carolina primary which could be the last chance for the Republicans to elect someone who is awesome instead of someone who sucks. There’s a debate there tonight, so hopefully Chris Wallace will ask the candidates other than Fred Thompson the tough question of “Why do you suck so much?”
Here’s some specific questions he should ask the other candidates:
John McCain: “Why do you hate Republicans?”
Mitt Romney: “You creep me out. Why is that?”
Mike Huckabee: “I hate you.”
Rudy Giuliani: “Are you even still in this, or did you go back to New York to abort babies and grab guns?”
Ron Paul: “Why won’t you die?”
Fred Thompson: “If the country fails to elect you, does it deserve plagues and famine?”
What questions do you have for the candidates in the debate tonight?