So is Perry or Romney really stronger vs. Obama on the health care issue?

There were lots of things to take away from last night's GOP debate in Southern California, but can we concentrate on the issue of health care for a moment?

All eight candidates said or have said that if they were fortunate enough to be elected president, the first thing they would do is repeal what is known derisively as "ObamaCare," the landmark health care reform bill the Democrats passed in 2010, and whose individual mandate provision will ultimately be deemed constitutional or not by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But as the issue was discussed in the early moments last night, it's instructive to note that neither of the front-runners in the race, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, had arguments that seemed to be a knockout about the current law, compared to their own records in their respective states.

This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2011.