The Fox News Channel hosted a presidential debate between eight Republican candidates. The debate featured an interesting format where the panel presented questions to the candidates along with a few questions from a crowd gathered at a local restaurant.

There were a few heated moments between the candidates. One in particular was between Rep. Ron Paul and Gov. Mike Huckabee when they disagreed on whether the US should pull out of Iraq or not. Rep Paul was very much for immediately bringing the US troops home and taking a more isolationist stance, while Gov. Huckabee said that it was the Nation’s obligation to stay and fix the situation and return “with honor”.

Mayor Giuliani tried to highlight his successes as the Mayor of New York City and made little reference to his role during September 11, 2001. He cited several examples of how his policies and experience led to a reduction in crime and how those experiences apply directly to his ability to be the president. Governor Romney did the same thing, citing several instances where his experiences as a governor have prepared him for the office.

Sen. Hunter took some notable jabs at the Democratic Party. One in particular was in relation to the Idaho Sen. Larry Craig misdemeanor plea when he said “When our guys have problems like this, they leave. When the Democrats have problems like this, they often make them chairmen of their respective committees".

Sen. McCain along with most of the other candidates agreed that Iran is a problem on the horizon and as such should be dealt with. He suggested that it would be easier to deal with a non-nuclear Iran than one with nuclear weapons, but he did not go as far as to say that war was the answer.

Immigration was also a hot topic, with Sen. Tancredo taking a hard stance on immigration law enforcement and the elimination of illegal immigration to include enforcing the border and imposing more strict laws to prevent it.

Sen. Brownback spoke very definitively on his views of family values, opposing gay marriage and calling marriage a “foundational institution” for the United States. He would support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Fred Thompson was conspicuously absent from the debate although he is now officially in the race.

You can read the transcripts of the debate at the following link: FOXNews.com - Transcript: Republican Presidential Primary Debate - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

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Ron Paul did not get a fair shake during today's Fox News Presidential debate. There were many instances where he was not allowed to even finish his points, while several of the other candidates were allowed extra time to finish a thought.

It was quite obvious that he was not taken seriously. Every time he spoke there was a loud laugh from what sounded like other candidates and maybe even the members of the panel that was asking the questions.

Even the moderators' questions took a tone of disbelief and sometimes condescension.

I am surprised that a professional news organization would behave this way.

Hey Lars. Wow - sticking up for a Republican? Or just being negative about Fox? [Just giving you a hard time.]

Actually, I was listening to the Dennis Prager show this morning and a caller mentioned the cackling. He said that he heard that it was Sean Hannity. I do not know where he got that information, but I do agree with you and think that it was very unprofessional.

I see that Ron Paul's fan base is working over time. Good for them - it is good to see so much passion for our country's future.

With that said, I have to admit that I did not know much about Ron Paul. I watched the debates last night and I have to admit, he made some good points. I loved the fact that he thinks that it was dumb to put airline security in the hands of the Fed Governemnt. He is right - it should be the airline's responsiblity.

However, I think he is too naive in his thoughts on Iraq and how to deal with the Middle East. I do not think that it is as easy as bringing our troops home and putting this whole "islamic terrorist" problem to rest. Regardless of where we are, they will come for us.

You're right; it does look like the Ron Paul fan base is out in force. I have to admit, it looks like he's got a pretty strong internet campaign going. I like this site and all, but I haven't seen that much traffic on any one topic until this thread.

It would be interesting if other candidate supporters came out to defend their guys too. Until then, it just look like a bunch of campaign volunteers posting commercials on the site.