For those primarily concerned about the state of the Republican horse race, you can pretty much skip this post. This afternoon’s event in New Hampshire, billed as a Lincoln/Douglas-style debate between Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman, is unlikely to affect the outcome of the election, or even the state’s primary. There were no surprises and the event generated no major news. The candidates, who both see Mitt Romney as their chief rivals, had no reason to attack each other, and given the style of the debate, the moderator wasn’t there to instigate a fight. So the tone of the 90-minute “debate” was more like a panel discussion at a Washington think tank. As Politico’s Ben Smith put it on Twitter, “Problem is that Lincoln and Douglas disagreed on the great issue of the day. Here… just talkin.”

Going into the debate, it could have been viewed as a “no win” situation for Gingrich, as he risked the possibility of stumbling when he has no need to engage Huntsman in the first place. But given that he didn’t commit any major gaffes, he’ll get to claim that he’s willing to debate anybody in any format (something that Mitt Romney cannot say for himself). Huntsman perhaps gained more exposure in New Hampshire as a result of the debate.