Well that was fun, although the hardworking staff firmly believes Lewis Carroll – no relation – would’ve been a better moderator than Fox Newshound Bret Baier (Cheshire Cat smile notwithstanding).

Fox News summary and video clips here.

Random notes:

• Everyone expected the news media would tier the field after the debate, but the first hour was pre-tiered for your convenience:

Nearly an hour into the debate [former Pennsylvania senator Rick] Santorum raised his hand and said: “I haven’t gotten to say a lot.”

He said that like it was a bad thing.

• Michele Bachmann (R-Let Me Say Again . . . ) was extremely impressive. It’s not easy submitting an entirely content-free two-hour debate performance. Oh, wait – she did say she could turn the U.S. economy around in three months. That’s not contentless – it’s moronic.

• Mitt Romney (R-Be Honest: Doesn’t My Hair Look Better Than Last Time Around?) emerged pretty much unscathed, although he’s still the Stepford Husband.

• Tim Pawlenty (R-Can You Here Me Now?) did himself some good in the debate.

• Newt Gingrich (R-Gotcha, Chris) would probably beat Fox Newshound Chris Wallace in an Iowa bakeoff (or, more relevantly, fry-off).

• Jon Huntsman, we don’t care that we hardly knew thee.

• Bachmann: Be submissive to your husband means respect him. Huh?

• Ron Paul (R-Am I the Gold Standard Yet?) says marriage should be between a single man and a single woman. Tough luck, divorcées.

• Rick Santorum (R-Not From This Planet) says abortion should be denied to women who’ve been raped because abortion’s a trauma that victimizes them again. Wait – making a woman give birth to a rapist’s child isn’t a trauma? Seriously?

• Bachmann says we gave Barack Obama “a blank check for 2.4 trillion dollars.” Not to get technical about it, but a blank check is, well, blank.

• Bachmann says Standard & Poor’s downgrade means we cannot pay our debt. Not to get technical about it, but that’s just wrong.

• Most surreal moment of a surreal debate: Split screen showing Santorum on both sides.

Dodgson! thou should’st be living at this hour: The GOP hath need of thee.