The GOP debate on Fox Business network just ended. It was impressive in parts and many of the candidates did well. Here are some conclusions:
1. The easiest thing to announce are the losers. The worst performance came from John Kasich who seemed almost disoriented at times as he rambled on in semi-coherent answers. Dr. Ben Carson also turned in a poor performance. In the past, Carson has always had one shining moment, but not this time. It was all low key and low energy (to use the Trump phrase about Jeb Bush). Speaking of Bush, he also had another or his poor performances. Bush outdid Kasich and Carson, but that is not much of an accomplishment. Bush's answers frequently seemed disjointed and hard to understand. He had a few bright spots, but the overall impression was not that of a strong leader despite Bush's own repeated statements about how that is what America needs.
2. Chris Christie came off poorly as well. He far outperformed the three mentioned above, and his oratory was strong and clear. The worst moment of the night for Christie, however, came when he fought with Marco Rubio. Rubio talked about some of the things that Christie has supported as governor of New Jersey including, among others, gun control measures. Christie responded that Rubio's statement was filled with false attacks and Christie touted himself as being a strong opponent of gun control. That left us with Rubio making the claim and Christie denouncing it as a lie. Then in one of the next questions, Christie was asked by the moderator about gun control actions he had taken as governor and statements he had made supporting those gun control measures. In a flash, it was clear that when Christie called Rubio's statement a lie, it was Christie who had been playing fast and loose with the truth. That was a devastating moment for Christie.
3. In the battles among Rubio, Trump and Cruz, there were some very strong body blows. Trump crushed Cruz in the discussion of Cruz's statement that Trump has "New York values." It was Trump's best moment of the night. On the other hand, Cruz crushed Trump in the debate over whether or not Cruz is a natural born citizen qualified to be president under the Constitution. Rubio and Cruz had two battles which ended with Cruz saying that Rubio was misrepresenting Cruz's record, but with there being no easy way to understand who was telling the truth. It certainly seemed that Rubio got the best of the exchange, but that could change after post-debate research comes out. Trump stood his ground on his plan to keep all Moslems out of the country temporarily, but the statements of every other candidate made clear that Trump's position was way off base. Rubio got bashed on his immigration stance of 2013, and for some reason Rubio resisted saying that he has changed his mind. Nevertheless, Rubio did a pretty good job of clarifying his present immigration stance in a way that should help him.
Rubio, Cruz and Trump were clearly the best performers, but it's hard to pick a winner among the three. On style, Rubio did best. Cruz seemed somewhat smarmy at times. Trump was Trump and that is a style that no one else has. On substance each of the three made some good points. I would give the victory to Rubio with Trump a close second and Cruz third.
Overall, the debate won't change the race much, if at all.
1. The easiest thing to announce are the losers. The worst performance came from John Kasich who seemed almost disoriented at times as he rambled on in semi-coherent answers. Dr. Ben Carson also turned in a poor performance. In the past, Carson has always had one shining moment, but not this time. It was all low key and low energy (to use the Trump phrase about Jeb Bush). Speaking of Bush, he also had another or his poor performances. Bush outdid Kasich and Carson, but that is not much of an accomplishment. Bush's answers frequently seemed disjointed and hard to understand. He had a few bright spots, but the overall impression was not that of a strong leader despite Bush's own repeated statements about how that is what America needs.
2. Chris Christie came off poorly as well. He far outperformed the three mentioned above, and his oratory was strong and clear. The worst moment of the night for Christie, however, came when he fought with Marco Rubio. Rubio talked about some of the things that Christie has supported as governor of New Jersey including, among others, gun control measures. Christie responded that Rubio's statement was filled with false attacks and Christie touted himself as being a strong opponent of gun control. That left us with Rubio making the claim and Christie denouncing it as a lie. Then in one of the next questions, Christie was asked by the moderator about gun control actions he had taken as governor and statements he had made supporting those gun control measures. In a flash, it was clear that when Christie called Rubio's statement a lie, it was Christie who had been playing fast and loose with the truth. That was a devastating moment for Christie.
3. In the battles among Rubio, Trump and Cruz, there were some very strong body blows. Trump crushed Cruz in the discussion of Cruz's statement that Trump has "New York values." It was Trump's best moment of the night. On the other hand, Cruz crushed Trump in the debate over whether or not Cruz is a natural born citizen qualified to be president under the Constitution. Rubio and Cruz had two battles which ended with Cruz saying that Rubio was misrepresenting Cruz's record, but with there being no easy way to understand who was telling the truth. It certainly seemed that Rubio got the best of the exchange, but that could change after post-debate research comes out. Trump stood his ground on his plan to keep all Moslems out of the country temporarily, but the statements of every other candidate made clear that Trump's position was way off base. Rubio got bashed on his immigration stance of 2013, and for some reason Rubio resisted saying that he has changed his mind. Nevertheless, Rubio did a pretty good job of clarifying his present immigration stance in a way that should help him.
Rubio, Cruz and Trump were clearly the best performers, but it's hard to pick a winner among the three. On style, Rubio did best. Cruz seemed somewhat smarmy at times. Trump was Trump and that is a style that no one else has. On substance each of the three made some good points. I would give the victory to Rubio with Trump a close second and Cruz third.
Overall, the debate won't change the race much, if at all.
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