NO FRACAS SIOUX CITY.

It was a remarkable evening that seven gentle people, one woman and six men, running for the Republican Party's nomination behaved so nicely, and although with no niceties toward each other, the beating was on the present occupant of the office that they themselves were seeking after.

Gingrich, as brilliant and alert as ever. He was on the defensive for most of the time, but he came out looking unscathed, as his answers were well thought out and straight to the point. The surprising fact was that he seemed to have toned down on his eloquence and has become just one of the "persons" on the stage.

Using big, fat words was not for tonight, he might have said; and he was right, for people were choosing a president, and not a college professor.

It was Romney who was not being so sure of what members of the audience might think, and of what the public would assume the day after, that he tried to repeat what he has said, time and time again, that he has emerged from the corporate world, and so he could be the best manager for the country's economy and finances; and that job creation was in his blood.

He chose his words with much caution than ever, to straighten out a bad impression he thought he might have made on the campaign trail; and that was good.

Paul had his eyes on Gingrich all night long, trying to make him look bad on a draft evasion charge; but it was not so, and Gingrich was able to prove it.

He, Paul, himself had a little trouble explaining why he was such an isolationist, when the world scene was calling for more involvement and participation by all nations for vigilance sake. Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb should be a no-no; and as such, it must be watched cautiously.

So, would the United States be safe for staying out of world affairs, and the answer would be a resounding "No". America keeping out of other countries' "business" would not bring world peace.

Santorum maintained his strong conservative beliefs, and said that he would not stray from them as long as he was president; showing that he was the most consistent person among his rivals, when pursuing ideological policies.

Huntsman showed brilliance in speech, more so now than ever, and he was able to extricate himself from the impression he has made, so far in the other debates, that he was too diplomatically minded.

That could play very well in foreign policy making, but not when it came to domestic affairs; namely, the economy, job creation, unemployment, etc.; people have said.

Perry, good old Perry, had his head in the clouds once again, thinking that a governorship was comparable to being the leader of the Western World; and that he could be a "mini-dictator", when it came to world matters. He would deal with the Congress of the United States in such a way that it would be a "part-time" profession for its members.

He was proud of his Texan record as governor, for lowering taxes in that State and making the economy there to grow faster than anywhere else in the country.

Bachmann was trouncing President Barack Obama anywhere she could, from health care to troop withdrawal in Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan. The president has been a "failure"; and that among all her Republican colleagues, she could do a better job.

There was, however, no change of the standings in the polls for any of the candidates, as they were equally prepared for the occasion, due to the Iowa caucuses scheduled for the first week in January, 2012.

The voting there would be pivotal for all of the candidates, as the winner could have the chance of meeting Obama head on for the presidency of the U.S. They all have the same inclination of becoming that person.

Though, there were some frisky moments, such as, for example, Santorum getting personal with Gingrich over a resolution against him, when he (Gingrich) was Mr. Speaker; as well as touching on his numerous divorces. Or, as said before, Paul's charge of AWOL (Absence Without Official Leave) by Gingrich, way back when.

Those were some of the hairy moments during the debate, but they amounted to nothing much. Otherwise, there was no real "juicy stuff" to write home about.

It would only be that Sioux City, Iowa, would remain agog with voters trying to figure out who the winner would be or should be in the caucus.

Media pollsters, political analysts and strategists, commentators and contributors of all shades and forms are there to supply all the information the public needs for it to make a sound judgment on all the candidates. You can count on that.

It was a Sioux City fracas that was no fracas at all.