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Thursday, March 10, 2016

Tonight's GOP Debate

The Republican debate on CNN tonight was quite different from the last two slug fests.  It was relentlessly civil.  Everyone was presidential, calm, and detailed in his responses.  Clearly, Rubio and Cruz abandoned the strategy of all out war with Trump that had been in place in the recent debates.  Trump also held off from throwing out the insults that have been such a staple of previous events.

Here's my take on the debate.  From the standpoint of tonight's event, Rubio had the strongest performance.  He showed a mastery of subjects like relations with Cuba, social security etc.  He had some good lines, the best being when he said that he did not want to be "politically correct" but he did want to be "correct".  Ted Cruz also gave a masterful performance.  He clearly showed the audience why he should be president.  Both Trump and Kasich also had good nights.  Trump was more substantive and more presidential than any of the previous debates.  Kasich was Kasich, always positive and always on his message of his experience.

From the standpoint of the race, tonight's big winner, however, is Donald Trump.  Nothing happened that is going to change the race.  There were no big mistakes, no confrontations that will grab the airwaves.  Trump was ahead, and Trump remains ahead.

Still, it is important to note that tonight's debate showed why any of these four would make a good president, particularly compared to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders.  Indeed, a comparison of last night's Democrat debate and tonight's GOP debate is an illustration of just how superior the Republican candidates are to the Democrats. 

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