Following the debate, it's been a mad rush to call a winner, especially within the actual campaigns. If you look at my poll which isn't closed yet, you'll see that Ron Paul is leading. I wouldn't put much stock in that, given that Paul supporters have been hounding all the polls they can find.

Paul's website is one of the first to declare victory, and they cite the MSNBC Poll. From the Ron Paul 2008 site:

ARLINGTON, VA – Congressman Ron Paul finished first in the MSNBC poll following the GOP primary debate last night held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. Dr. Paul received 43 percent, beating the second-place finisher by five points, and crushing the rest of the field.

First off, let me tell you, that the MSNBC poll isn't a poll about who you should vote for, or who won the debate. The MSNBC poll is an up, down, neutral poll, where most other candidates are screwed over by ultra-liberals voting down on all candidates, except of course for the anti-war Paul.

Next is the McCain camp, which makes an even less convincing case for McCain winning the debate. I felt as if McCain was preaching to the camera. Here's their corny synopsis from the blog at McCain's site:

Says Yepsen, "John McCain was his old self at Thursday night's Republican presidential debate: feisty, pointed and a straight-talker who wasn't afraid to tell Republican activists things they didn't want to hear. It made him the big winner of the night."

And, "Thursday night's debate indicated McCain's 'Straight Talk Express' has fresh plugs and new tires and looks to be running on premium ethanol."

My translation? McCain has a new hairplug, his campaign smells like burning rubber, and he's got some pretty smelly gas. I know, I'm a bit biased, but McCain came out even at best from the debate, and definately didn't win.

The best case of course comes from my pick of who won the debate, Mitt Romney. Romney's site has a long media list which includes some great quotes like this one:

The Politico 's Roger Simon: "It would be terribly irresponsible to pick a winner of Thursday night's Republican debate. So I will. I think Mitt Romney won." (Roger Simon, "Call Me Irresponsible: I Say Romney Won," The Politico, 5/3/07)

As "irresponsible" as Simon's pick is, it's very accurate. Romney came out with more name recognition, looking presidential, and clearing up a lot of questions on his evolution as a Conservative. The spin goes Romney's way, because he truly did win the first debate.