The Republican Debate: Reaction

So last Thursday there was another Republican Debate (another will be held in the coming weeks).  Here is my reaction to it.

Ben Carson:  While a very nice man, and most certainly smart, he does not come off as tough enough to handle Washington or ISIS.  He struggled to get his words out, which demonstrates that he is no politician, but he looked too soft.

Governor Christie: As usual he comes off as a member of the Sopranos cast.  He got the voice and the guile to crush his opposition.  However, he is out shown by Trump and he also seems abrasive.  To make matters worse he believes in global warming and a few other democratic ideals which makes him less liked to the conservatives who actually will be choosing the Republican Presidential Candidate.

Governor Jeb Bush:  Another good candidate who like Christie has some liberal views.  He is also too soft spoken like Carson.  However, he did speak clearly and showed his smarts, but he needs to put some more passion into his speeches otherwise he is out.

Governor Kasich:  All I heard was Ohio this and Ohio that from him.   Yes, he did a good job as Ohio governor and is a capable leader, but people do not want to hear about Ohio, they want what Trump is dishing out.

Senator Marco Rubio:  Another great contender, and he knows his way around washington.  However as a main contender next to Cruz and Trump, all I heard was attacks and no substance.  He performed better in the other debates when he talked about what he wants to try and accomplish.

Senator Ted Cruz: Cruz being the current front man was attacked from all sides.  He successfully fended off Trump with his accusations of not being able to run due to issues of him being born in Canada to American Parents, but fumbled in his comment on New York values (socially liberal values).  Also, Rubio attacked Cruzes voting record, to which Cruz used his time wisely to address some of the criticisms leaving the rest for the post debate interviews.  He proved why he is a debate champion and a Constitutional litigator.  At the moment, Cruz, for being the smartest when it comes to law and his understanding of Constitution is my main guy.

Donald Trump:  Still the biggest mouth in the room, he surprised us in the debate.  He went into some details on taxes which showed off that he's smarter than his hairdo and even said openly that Cruz was on his short list to be his Vice President,  Cruz responded that if he wins the nomination Trump is on his short list, to which Trump agreed to be his VP, which is assuming Trump was being honest.  Overall Trump pulled a good performance despite my distaste for his anger harnessing voting machine.

Final Thought:  Fox went the way of the other networks and asked questions based on popularity, but they allowed each candidate to say their peace.  As such, the debate went an extra 20 minutes which I liked.  However, I am sad to say my ideal candidate (Rand Paul) is relegated with Carly Fiorina to the pre-debate debate with candidates who are least likely to get the nomination.  I think overall this debate was one of the better ones and that the front runners are Trump, Cruz and Rubio.  Who the republicans end up choosing remains to be seen however.