South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared to be the winner of the undercard GOP presidential debate, with pundits, GOP brass and viewers alike singing his praises.
Viewers of CNBC, the host of the debate, rated Graham far on top:
- Lindsey Graham: 53 percent
- Bobby Jindal: 24 percent
- Rick Santorum: 13 percent
- George Pataki: 10 percent
CNBC's Larry Kudlow agreed.
"Lindsey Graham, as a national security hawk, is sending messages that we should all listen to," Kudlow said. "I love the commander-in-chief stuff. I loved when he said we can't decimate the military, and I also loved that he said we have to have prosperity in order to finance the military budget."
And 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney was impressed, too, tweeting: