First, there's Michele Bachmann.
From the start, Bachmann came off as a fresh voice . . . more remarkable perhaps because she was the only woman on the panel.
Bachmann also looked fantastic. And she offered the substance conservative voters are looking for. In fact, she gave it to them in spades.
She has real "street cred," as they say, as a genuine tea party conservative. She heads the Tea Party Caucus in Congress and reminded viewers that she has fought against her own party when principle demands it. For example, she opposed TARP and raising the debt ceiling when the GOP leadership in Congress supported it.
Conservatives love this stuff. Bachmann tapped into the anger among GOP primary voters, some of whom are angry with her own party. But she did it without being angry herself. Bachmann's performance was Reaganesque.
If Republican primary voters want a candidate who represents them, Bachmann grabbed the night.
If, however, voters were looking for a Republican candidate who can win the general election in a close race against President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney was the winner.