Political columnist Roger Simon determined that to win yesterday's Republican debate, all Fred Thompson had to do was "not throw up." And though Thompson managed to clock a completely hurl-free performance, reviews from the pro blowhard class are mixed. By various accounts, Thompson was "uneven," "shaky," "flat," and "dull," assessments that will resonate especially with those who have only seen the clip of his opening answer (punctuated by a long, awkward pause, above) that was featured prominently on Drudge before the late-afternoon debate was even over. Knowing those bastards in the media, Thompson coverage over the next few days will center on his lackluster moments.

But there were some positive moments, too. And Radar is nothing if not eternally hopeful, sunny, and optimistic. In that spirit, Radar takes a quick look after the jump at what Thompson got right in his inaugural joust ...

• He averted a major disaster by quickly and correctly answering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbygX6blzq4 a pop-quiz on the the name of Canada's prime minister.

• When asked if organized labor was good for America, Thompson wisely made no mention of the time he borrowed a friend's handgun to deal with an unruly union in his hometown.

• Unlike Romney, he didn't gift wrap future attack ads for his opponents with a politically horrible "we'll let the lawyers figure it out" answer on how a president should deal with a threat from Iran.

• Thompson mercifully stayed out of the unavoidable 9/11 sanctimony-fest rained down on Internet celeb Ron Paul by a certain candidate (hints: former mayor, 9/11 expert, three wives).

• Although his rebuttals to a rare moderator smack-down from the child-like Chris Matthews and a lame, canned Law & Order zinger from Romney got a little lost in the cross-chatter, they were nonetheless completely warranted.

• And at no point did Thompson explode and say "Just shut up ... you're a liar!" as he did in this debate.