After cameras fade to black, the debate continues on in the spin room

After the eight GOP presidential hopefuls got done attacking one another -- Rick Perry getting the blunt of the criticism -- and President Obama, the politicking continued in the spin room at the Tampa Fairgrounds.

Mitt Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, noted that his candidate has experience in turning around bad economies.

"Mitt Romney went into a situation (in Massachusetts) that is much like the situation that the country is facing now, with an economy that was in recession (and) a broken budget,"" Fehrnstrom told reporters gathered in the spin room.

While some sent their campaign spokesmen, others sent heavyweights.  They, undoubtedly, got the bulk of the attention from the media, forcing me to shift my weight to get a good position so that I could get the WOKV mic flag on camera.  Oh yeah, also so that my mic could actually pick up what the candidates were saying.  Details, details.

Rick Perry, who the polls have as the new front-runner, sent Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal into the spin room to talk to the hoards of reporters.  He touted Perry's lengthy career as a political leader, saying that makes him the best choice to be president.

He bolstered that viewpoint by pointing out President Obama's relative lack of legislative experience before he was elected president.  "We elected a president who's one of the best speakers we've seen in a political generation.  Yet we continue to have one of the worst economies we've had in a generation," Jindal said as I was muscling my way to get a good position.

Other candidates tried to one-up Perry by sending themselves.

Herman Cain touted his role as a political outsider, and he made reference to his remark in the debate that he knows how Washington works, that it doesn't.

"People inside Washington keep telling me, 'You will never get that (9-9-9) plan done because you don't know how Washington works.  Yes I do, it doesn't," Cain told me and a throng of reporters in the spin room.  "That's the problem.  That's why I introduce myself as Herman Cain, the only non-politician on this stage."

Rick Santorum also made an appearance, and he used the occasion to keep it real.

A reporter (not me) asked him about who he'd pick as his running mate, and he brushed the issue aside.  "I don't know if you've seen my position in the polls lately.  That's not something that's necessarily first on my list right now," Santorum said.

By the way, if I seemed a little red-faced during the debate and in the spin room, it has nothing to do with any of my viewpoints.  I was just slightly sunburned at the football game on Sunday.  That's all.