It was a night long on rhetoric, short on substance as the eight Republican hopefuls squared off yet again, this time at historic Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Republican presidential candidates

The short version has former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich emerging as the strongest challenger to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the assumed nominee, despite his continued lackluster ratings in the polls. Read more:

Editor’s Note:

Ron Paul was the Only Candidate to Condemn Racial Profiling. Main topics included illegal immigration, with Gingrich sounding a plea for compassion; Iran, with most of the candidates standing for support for an Israeli strike on the purported nuclear weapons plants; Afghanistan, with spirited barbs about withdrawal; and Pakistan, with the candidates largely at a loss as to how to deal with that troublesome nation.