FIRST & Final Thoughts On the Week That Was…Post Debate Edition
FIRST Well, we were sure wrong about our prediction. But it happens sometimes in the political world.
In our debate preview blog on Thursday, we forecasted that those hoping for fireworks between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz would likely be disappointed. After five debates of praise, politeness, and a political “bromance” between the two GOP outsiders, we wondered if there ever would be political brawl.
Then last night, the kettle finally blew off the top.
Everyone knew the birther question was coming. It was just a matter of when.
Fox Business moderator Neil Cavuto ended the suspense roughly 30 minutes into the debate and asked Sen. Ted Cruz about his reaction to Donald Trump questioning his eligibility to run for president.
At first, Cruz handled the question calmly and eloquently with some humor mixed in. He was well prepared for the conflict that he knew was coming. And then, the exchanged got heated as Cruz defended his citizenship and one-upping Mr. Trump by bringing up the fact that Donald Trump’s mother was born in Scotland, a point that Trump said makes no difference because he was born on U.S. soil, unlike Cruz.
From there, the night was just getting started and this debate was probably the best one yet. It was certainly a lively and entertaining two plus hours. Maybe it was the fact that there were only seven candidates on stage, or the questions asked were more substantive than in previous debates.
Likely, with only one more debate before the actual voting begins, much is on the line for these men and women who are experiencing, for the most part, a once in a lifetime opportunity to run for the highest office in the land.
Here is our analysis of each candidate’s performance.
Donald Trump – A clear co-winner of the night and probably his best performance so far. He, alongside Ted Cruz, had the entire political world talking about their fireworks, as if Trump needed any more media exposure. Also, rather than dispute Gov. Nikki Haley’s reference to him as being angry, Trump agreed with her and said, “Yes, I am angry” and many in the audience and watching at home agreed. We are angry at how our country has been run by both parties. Finally, after being made to look silly by Cruz for questioning the senator’s citizenship which Cruz handled extremely well, the New Yorker invoked 9/11 and turned the tables around on the Texas senator who was left speechless.
Ted Cruz – He is the first candidate to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Trump and win. Throughout the first five debates, every candidate who has tried to combat the front-runner was quickly made the loser, but Cruz handled the birther issue very well and made Trump look silly for using tactics that are always found on the other side of the political aisle. However, even though we know exactly what was meant by his “New York values” comments (high taxes, nanny state, socialist politicians), the damage was done from a media standpoint. We have faith in the senator that conservatives and others leaning towards voting for him in Iowa and elsewhere knew exactly what he meant by his comments and was not disparaging the heroes of 9/11 nor the city itself. Setting aside pointless sideshow issues like birtherism and campaign loans, Cruz once again showed the kind of leadership that many conservatives want in their next commander-in-chief.
Marco Rubio – A master at these debates, the Florida senator is likable on the surface, passionate, and quick on his feet. When attacked, he artfully turns it around and counterattacks but it’s pretty obvious that he is a bit calculated and rehearsed. His signature moments were his two showdowns with his closest establishment rival, Chris Christie (he lost) and closest conservative he trails, Ted Cruz (a draw). Mr. Christie made Rubio look silly when the senator tried to interrupt the governor and Christie turned to him and said, “You already got your chance, Marco. You blew it.” As for his war of words with his senate colleague from Texas, Rubio fired back after being attack on his immigration and amnesty stances by unleashing an 11 point attack on Cruz from everything from his support of amnesty to flip flopping on ethanol to being a closet Jimmy Carter fan. Okay, he didn’t actually mention the last one. Whether all or any of his attacks on Cruz are true is up for debate and given that Rubio was a member of the Gang go Eight, we will call this duel a tie. Overall, Marco Rubio struggles with his political identity: is he the grassroots conservative of 2010 or the one who is the target of establishment players like Christie and Bush who see him as their biggest threat?
Ben Carson – The candidate who had the most on the line (forget Bush), he vowed to come out with more pep and energy and be more vocal. So what happens? He stands there idly and is the last man on stage to be asked a question. And in typical fashion, he makes a funny joke about falling asleep and being woke up which further illustrates why so many of us find him so likable. Unfortunately, the former neurosurgeon failed to to do much at all to stop the free falling that his campaign is experiencing, and unless a miracle occurs in Iowa, there is no point moving forward with his campaign which will be viewed by us as the second most disappointing campaign this election cycle behind Rand Paul.
Chris Christie – The governor had a fairly decent debate by his standards. Mr. Christie, as he does every debate, continually turns to the camera at some point to talk directly to the people and remind those voters that Hillary Clinton is the real problem we face and that he is the man who can beat her. Fine, but records matter governor, and yours is terrible. You can boast about your executive experience versus the legislators on stage but any candidate who is all-in in New Hampshire is showing off his or her true moderate colors and we will never be interested.
Jeb Bush – He needed to build off the decent performance he had last month in Las Vegas and failed. The former frontrunner looks so uncomfortable on stage. It’s as if his brain is scrambling to find the right words to say and even after he speaks, he is second-guessing what he just uttered. What little video we have seen of Mr. Bush conducting his town halls on the campaign trail, he seems to be more relaxed and comfortable, or more rehearsed at the least. He tried during the debate to get Trump to back off his proposal to temporary ban Muslims from entering the country, and as expected, the business mogul stood firm, and Bush, looking on stunned, was left wondering what else he could do to take him out. That pretty much sums up the campaign for Jeb. He never understood, or most likely didn’t care, the psyche of the voter that Donald Trump has tapped into. And don’t forget, before he ran for president, he said he wanted to win the nomination without the GOP base, i.e. conservatives. That should be a lesson for any future establishment candidate who seeks to occupy the White House. Of course, they will never learn.
John Kasich – The Ohio governor was way less obnoxious than he has been in recent debates. Perhaps he was told by his advisers to tone it down or maybe he sees his inevitable fate and wants to enjoy the rest of the ride with a smile. He did nothing to convince voters that he is the top-tier candidate in the establishment lane. All his eggs are in the New Hampshire primary basket and should he finish in 4th place or worse, he most certainly will drop out. Twenty years ago we lauded him as a conservative leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. Either we were wrong about him then or he has evolved into the establishment moderate that was always his true self.
Final South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for Vice President?
Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham predicted just that on Fox News Sunday back on January 3rd and we were quite surprised and very disappointed. The 501(c)4 Heritage Action organization is the sister of The Heritage Foundation and we have long been admirers of both organizations. But if the head of this grassroots organization believes that Gov. Haley is the “best qualified”, then count us out.
After President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, the Republicans called on Ms. Haley to deliver the response. We will leave it to Sen. Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan for the reason behind why she was recruited to deliver the speech that is supposed to contrast the stark differences between the two parties. We have our suspicions.
After seven years of destruction to our republic, what does the “best qualified” candidate for the Vice-Presidency do to paint in bold colors between the two parties? Why, she attacks Donald Trump and those “angry voices” within her own party of course!
We have never really cared much for Ms. Haley politically and her actions this week certainly won’t make us reconsider.
