Last Republican Primary debate reaction.

Ok I waited several days to digest the debate because I was not confident on what I saw last Thursday.  But now I am ready to give my reaction.  That reaction is as follows.

For one, Trump not being there was a blessing.  Donald Trump being who he is, is a total disruption and distracts from everything policy wise due to his rambunctious bomb throwing personality.  As such, we got a real debate on policy issues and what the other candidates would do if they became President.  Most of the talk focused on ISIS when it came to national defense, with the other topic being addressed being and tax reform.  However Rand Paul being back on stage was something of a canary in the coal mine.  Many of the pundits agree with me, or maybe I should say I agree with them, that Rand provided constitutional context to any policy as he was the go to on stage for constitutional questions.  As such he acted as a bomb thrower saying "ok, you can do this, but not that due to the Constitution" or his applying the economic and social freedom arguments to his answers which forced the other candidates to respond in ways that they did not appear to be prepared for.  

As to the candidates individually, while I do not agree that he will make a good President with respect to my own differences in politics, Chris Christie, I believe, with his passion and vigor would make him a great choice as attorney general (he is a former prosecutor as I understand).  Jeb Bush as usual was soft spoken, but whether it be him, or his advisors, he was more passionate and pushed his way into the limelight giving a good showing.  So it was his best performance yet even if it was not enough to win the nomination.  Kasich I really did not hear anything of substance and seemed to be ignored most of the debate.  Ben Carson spoke up and had a few zingers, but sadly he will not be nominated as the Republican base (or should I say leadership does not think he can win if pitted against Hillary.  Rubio and Cruz had a great tit for tat on their records and Rand Paul served as the individual to confirm if what they were saying about each other was true or not (they are all after all Senators who work together regularly).  At the end, Rubio and Cruz tied it up in that debate as Rubio made himself look more electable, and Cruz successfully fending off most attacks save on the issue of immigration reform where he looked as if he was caught up in a lie or an act on the issue of amnesty something his voting record clearly shows he is not in favor of.  

Post-debate interviews were great as they allowed candidates to clarify their answers from the debate and more time to speak their piece.  Most of these interviews after the debate though focused on parrying the attacks made on the candidates and clarifying their record.  Cruz used this most successfully to try and fix the perception that he was pro amnesty as Fox News/Google (the debate hosts) played clips of the candidates speaking on issues in testimony while in Congress or from interviews.  Basically it made it impossible for them to lie on stage if they were intending to in the first place.  Needless to say post-debate interview wise Cruz being the person in second place nationally used this interview well and Megyn Kelly even clarified that Cruz's voting record showed he did not support amnesty, but that the clip that Fox/google showed made him look a bit dishonest, as if he was acting out a part while giving that testimony.  Cruz struggled a little with how to answer when presented with this, but ultimately after Megyn Kelly pushing him answered that he was using the opponent’s words against them (the opponents being pro amnesty Democrats and Republicans).

Final Thought:  The debate was overall successful and enjoyable especially the fact checking and the video clips used by the debate hosts.  I wish I could have heard more from Rand Paul as he is my number one candidate with Cruz and Carson being numbers two and three.  With the Iowa voters gearing up today, we are sure to have an enjoyable news day for those like me who like Presidential horse races.