Presidential candidate Fred Thompson
Started with high energy, bountiful quips, and a bundle of opposition research on his opponents' records of deviating from conservative orthodoxy. Ended with a long, staged joke fending off the "lazy" charge. Offered up some timid answers midway. Came across as a warrior at times and was way better than he was in his first rodeo, but still not a dominating figure.
—by Mark Halperin