Mitt Romney and Rick Perry knew they were headed for a two-man debate at the Reagan Presidential Library Wednesday night. There’s no doubt each would have loved to knock the other out, but when it was over, each walked away unvanquished, and the Republican presidential race is now a head-to-head contest after its first full-field debate. But despite a strong first showing, and a solid performance on the key issue of jobs, Perry could be heading for serious trouble on the hot-button issues of Social Security and immigration.

The first clash between the former governor of Massachusetts and the current governor of Texas came over jobs. The two governors started with subtle jabs at each other, beginning when Romney said Perry was not responsible for much of the job-creating atmosphere in Texas, and if Perry tried to claim he was, “it would be like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.” It was Romney’s way of bringing up, without actually bringing up, the fact that Perry supported Democrat Gore way back in 1988.