All four GOP presidential candidates came to the Arizona debate ready for a fight. A relaxed Newt Gingrich (R-GA) arrived with his guns trained on President Obama. With his poll numbers in the toilet and his campaign effectively dead for the third time, Speaker Gingrich fought like he had nothing to lose.

In his opening statement, Gingrich took a direct shot at President Obama, saying that if Gingrich is voted into office that no U.S. president would ever bow to a Saudi King again. Vintage Newt. 

It was a difficult for Gingrich to get in his usual amount of bomb throwing. He was on the outside, which meant less individual attention. With the majority of the attention being focused on the co-frontrunners Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Rick Santorum, (R-PA) Gingrich had to be careful to make use of what time he had. 

During his first major question, he showcased his knowledge of history, claimed credit for four years of a balanced budget during his time as Speaker and talked about the need to increase domestic energy production. He maintained a positive tone, showing a sharp contrast from his performances in the previous months.

Maintaining his positive tone, Newt gave credit to Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. He recieved a nice round of applause from the crowd when he mentioned the Justice Department’s attempt to sue the state of Arizona for its attempt to solve an immense illegal immigration problem.

Newt scored big talking about the misconception that every car company was in the red in 2008. He pointed out how Asian and European car companies were doing fine in 2008, because they did not have the UAW to drain them of their money. Gingrich earned massive applause when he mentioned how the UAW refused to accept reasonable cuts in benefits to help keep GM and other American auto companies afloat. Boom!

Newt joined with Romney in hammering both CNN Moderator John King and President Obama when the question of birth control and contraception came up.  Speaker Gingrich hammered Obama for voting to protect doctors who let babies who survive an abortion die unattended in a hospital or clinic. Zing!

For the first time in fifty years, more people are pro-life than pro-choice. Gingrich, along with Romney and Santorum seized on the opportunity to ignite a fire under social conservatives who have so far been fairly unimpressed during the course of this campaign. 

When talking about the Middle East, Newt dropped the boom on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, citing his repeated holocaust denial and threats to Israel. He gained more applause when he would support the right of any Prime Minister of Israel, haunted by the memories of the holocaust, to defend their people, as did Santorum and Romney. Ron Paul drew boos.

Gingrich may not have hit a home run by beating up a moderator, but he did land several great shots. While there was no knock out shot, there is a distinct possibility that he injured Rick Santorum tonight. If Newt will to bleed away any support, it will not be from Governor Romney or Congressman Paul.

When asked to describe himself in one word, Gingrich said that he was ‘Cheerful.’ Knowing that people prefer Uncle Newt to Angry Newt, he did everything he needed to do tonight to gain in the polls and remain competitive in Super Tuesday.