Candidates come to campus for debate

The common antagonist of the night, however, remained Obama.

"This president has failed the people of Florida miserably," Santorum said. "He plays 90 rounds of golf when we have millions of people out of jobs."

J. Edwin Benton, a USF political science professor, said he thought Romney may have made somewhat of a rebound after losing in the South Carolina primary.

"I think I would give Romney a slight edge because he scored points with Freddie Mac, tying Gingrich to special interests," he said. "I think he made some inroads in the right direction."

Overall, Benton said the debate was more cordial than he expected.

"I really thought it was going to be a knockdown-dragout where the candidates takes the gloves off and have a catfight," he said. "I think the candidates expected that, but the way the questions were canned or prepared by the media, steered them away from that kind of conflict."

The state will vote on a candidate Jan. 31 during the Florida primary.