STEPHEN GREEN IS LIVEBLOGGING THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE: I just turned on the TV, and Rudy seems to be doing better than usual.

UPDATE: “I was tied up at the time” — good line from McCain. [LATER: Video here.]

Jon Henke emails that he’s liveblogging at the FredFile. More on Fred here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, I haven’t seen all of these debates, but it seemed to me that all the candidates were on their game to a much greater degree than they were in the earlier debates I watched. Practice pays, I guess.

But the best soundbite came from a member of Frank Luntz’s focus group, who said about Hillary: “She’s got a million ideas, and all of those ideas are something that America is not.”

MORE: Stephen Green’s sum-up: “Thompson exceeded expectations, I think, keeping him running. McCain had the best soundbites, Rudy had the best instincts, and Mitt turned out his worst performance to date.”

And John Nolte was liveblogging too and observes: “Overall, I feel better about our field. Not thrilled, but better.”

STILL MORE: Kit Seelye liveblogged it too, and also observed: “This debate makes it official: It’s open season on Hillary Clinton.”

And Allah has video highlights.