The GOP presidential debate on FBN just ended. It was quite different from the last debate on CNBC. There were conflicts between the candidates, but they were about policy. We heard from the candidates about their plans for the economy, taxes, and many other subjects. The Fox Business moderators deserve praise for the great job that they did.
But let's get to the substance. The clearest outcome tonight is which of the candidates lost. Without a doubt the biggest loser was Jeb Bush. Bush lost because he put in another stuttering lackluster performance. He spoke in half sentences and jargon frequently. This is his fourth poor debate, and it really ought to be his last. He has no hope of ever recovering. A second loser was John Kasich. Governor Kasich made a few good points, but generally he seemed to be all over the place, frequently unable to respond to the questions asked. The last big loser was Rand Paul. Senator Paul actually managed to come out in favor of reducing defense spending even if it was less than needed to protect the nation because that would be the "conservative" thing to do. He got one good shot in at Donald Trump when he pointed out that China was not part of the TPP, but on the whole, Paul was, as usual, outside the GOP mainstream.
Other candidates had mixed evenings. Dr. Carson was very effective in his closing, but he got some of his answers confused. For example, Carson said that the Chinese had troops in Syria -- they don't. If there were Chinese troops nearby, one could say that Carson had just misspoke, but there are no Chinese troops in the Middle East. It was a bizarre statement from Carson. Ted Cruz had some very good moments, but he also displayed his dogmatic side which was scary. Cruz said that if big banks were about to fail, he would let them go under. Someone should tell the senator that banks going under like that was the main cause of the Depression. It may be pure from a doctrinal standpoint, but it also would cause pain of enormous proportions for the country. (It would make much more sense to break up the big banks ahead of time so that a collapse of one or more of them would have less impact.)
Donald Trump was better than usual, but he did make some big mistakes. The biggest was his long answer about how the trade deal is terrible because it would let the Chinese sneak in the back door (his words, not mine). That was when senator Paul pointed out that China was not a party to the deal. Paul could have made clear the lack of knowledge that Trump was showing, but he never drove the point home. Still, it was a bad moment for Trump.
Carly Fiorina was back with a strong performance. She had some stronger and some weaker moments, but was one of the two winners. The other winner was Marco Rubio. The Florida senator was strong on nearly all of his answers. He was particularly good on the defense and family issues.
Nothing tonight is likely to change the trajectory of any of the campaigns. The race seems to be consolidating around Trump, Carson, Rubio and Cruz. If there is any effect, it is likely to raise Rubio a bit further in his quest to join the two leading candidates at the top.
But let's get to the substance. The clearest outcome tonight is which of the candidates lost. Without a doubt the biggest loser was Jeb Bush. Bush lost because he put in another stuttering lackluster performance. He spoke in half sentences and jargon frequently. This is his fourth poor debate, and it really ought to be his last. He has no hope of ever recovering. A second loser was John Kasich. Governor Kasich made a few good points, but generally he seemed to be all over the place, frequently unable to respond to the questions asked. The last big loser was Rand Paul. Senator Paul actually managed to come out in favor of reducing defense spending even if it was less than needed to protect the nation because that would be the "conservative" thing to do. He got one good shot in at Donald Trump when he pointed out that China was not part of the TPP, but on the whole, Paul was, as usual, outside the GOP mainstream.
Other candidates had mixed evenings. Dr. Carson was very effective in his closing, but he got some of his answers confused. For example, Carson said that the Chinese had troops in Syria -- they don't. If there were Chinese troops nearby, one could say that Carson had just misspoke, but there are no Chinese troops in the Middle East. It was a bizarre statement from Carson. Ted Cruz had some very good moments, but he also displayed his dogmatic side which was scary. Cruz said that if big banks were about to fail, he would let them go under. Someone should tell the senator that banks going under like that was the main cause of the Depression. It may be pure from a doctrinal standpoint, but it also would cause pain of enormous proportions for the country. (It would make much more sense to break up the big banks ahead of time so that a collapse of one or more of them would have less impact.)
Donald Trump was better than usual, but he did make some big mistakes. The biggest was his long answer about how the trade deal is terrible because it would let the Chinese sneak in the back door (his words, not mine). That was when senator Paul pointed out that China was not a party to the deal. Paul could have made clear the lack of knowledge that Trump was showing, but he never drove the point home. Still, it was a bad moment for Trump.
Carly Fiorina was back with a strong performance. She had some stronger and some weaker moments, but was one of the two winners. The other winner was Marco Rubio. The Florida senator was strong on nearly all of his answers. He was particularly good on the defense and family issues.
Nothing tonight is likely to change the trajectory of any of the campaigns. The race seems to be consolidating around Trump, Carson, Rubio and Cruz. If there is any effect, it is likely to raise Rubio a bit further in his quest to join the two leading candidates at the top.
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