Jason Clarke

That’s a free market solution!

This may be a Republican debate on FoxNews, but Chris Wallace is pulling no punches at the outset. So far, he’s asked three tough, personalized questions, first to Romney, then to Giuliani, and now to McCain. All three have shot back with solid answers- Huckabee is up now, though with a softer challenge.

The debate is on…the media room here is about halfway full, the sound is blaring, and the first question is about Fred Thompson. Thompson is getting earned media from the candidates without even needing to appear. Brownback just tried to land a punch on Thompson, but it was McCain’s remark (”maybe we’re up past [Thompson's] bed time”) that landed the biggest laughter from both the debate audience and the media room.

Back from a long blog vacation, I’m live from the Republican Presidential debate here in Durham, New Hampshire on the campus of the University of New Hampshire.

With me in the media room two hours before the start of the debate is my friend Lance Dutson of Maine Web Report. We’ll be here all night, first in the media room, then later in the spin room with the candidates, their flacks, and the media.

Lance and I will be doing our best to live blog the event here and at his site. We’ll also be posting photos to my Flickr account and possibly doing some video reports throughout the night. Stay tuned, and thanks for sticking around through my long hiatus.

Right now we’re off to get some of the free food and then interview some of the protesters out front. Back in a few…