GOP Debate Winner? Either Cain or Romney

The instant analysis from the GOP debate doesn't exactly bode well for Rick Perry, who needed a big night in the eyes of pundits:

• "Seems to me that it was a pretty good night for Mitt Romney, and for Herman Cain as well. ... Not sure that Rick Perry changed the direction of things much ..." Gerald F. Seib, Wall Street Journal.
• "Debate wrap: Romney won. Not-Romney, not-Romney, not-Romney, not-Romney, not-Romney, not-Romney and not-Romney didn't." Ezra Klein, Washington Post.
• Ed Morrissey, Hot Air: "OK, Perry did better in this debate, but not spectacular. Romney gave his usual controlled performance, and Cain handled himself well."

• "I think Cain won this debate and Perry lost it," writes Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Beast. Cain calls to mind Ross Perot because he "has a similar businessman's belief that he can do anything and a great, simple, effective sales technique. I've underestimated him. The voters haven't."
• Nate Silver of the New York Times tweets his grades: "Romney B+, Cain B, Huntsman B-, Gingrich B-, Bachmann C+, Paul C+, Santorum C, Perry C"
• Chris Cillizza, Washington Post: Put Romney (he was both sharp and "human"), Cain ("he did nothing to slow the momentum he had") and Gingrich (another strong performance) in the winners' camp, and Perry ("felt like an afterthought") and Bachmann ("needed a spark and just didn’t get it") in the losers' camp.

(More Herman Cain 2012 stories.)