[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Debate thoughts...

Seems like a reasonable recap of events best I can tell, I'm going to use it as a jumping off point for just a few observations. Saves some typing

Graham: I get what he's saying, but he seems to be positioning himself as the candidate who hides under the bed and scares children.

A uber-left friend watching tonight described him as possibly the most farthest out there of the JV when he spoke. "At least Santorum believes what he says, Graham just seems to be making up shit randomly"

Jindal: He seems to want to dedicate his candidacy to taking down Trump.

I never really thought of him previously as an establishment wonk but that seems to be the position he's trying to solidify here. Granted, he may have always been & I just failed to pick up on it strongly but it seems like an odd angle for a guy who seems to be all but dead in the water as a candidate.

Fox did a great job with the opener last month and CNN met their challenge. We're getting a much better picture of the candidates than ever before.

We obviously disagree on the job Fox did in round one but I thought it was interesting to see numerous compliments from my friends (all conservative to arch-conservatives) praising CNN for their coverage & often bashing Fox for their post-game coverage in the same social media post. Of all the participants in this election season I'm not at all sure that FXNC hasn't done themselves more harm than anyone long term. I get a sense that they've damaged the trust their core audience had in them, and not by just a little bit either.

Bush: His body language and demeanor are of someone who really doesn't want to be there.

I thought it might be pretty telling that someone that's supposed to be in at least the upper half of the varsity squad was the least mentioned candidate of the bunch in the reactions I saw within my circle. This seems like what a flagging candidacy looks like, not only does he not want to be there but I'm not really sure how much longer he will be there.

Walker: It would be easy to forget he's there.

My 17 y/o (*this will be his first election, so he's pretty focused) made an interesting comment about Walker tonight. The exact phrasing escapes me but it was to the effect that he does pretty well when he speaks but got so little opportunity tonight that he seems to have no chance. Just struck me interesting.

Fiorina: No question the audience loved her.

I just don't see how in the blue hell she can get around this bit forever
Fiorina said for the first time Wednesday night that she would support the so-called DREAM Act ... Source: Los Angeles Times coverage of 2010 CA Senate Debate , Sep 2, 2010

At some point she either has to own that position or walk it back. She can't have a free pass on it forever ... can she?

Paul: He did a good job separating his ideas from the rest of the group. But he always seems angry and maybe a little confused on foreign issues.

Again I'll defer to my son, who summed it up beautifully "That guy is just nuts. He has no business on the stage".

Cruz: He is wonderfully articulate and if he has staying power, he should grab the right-wing vote.

Aside from a simple lack of trust for the guy, my thumbnail on him in discussions here was simply this "I like that he takes a hard stand, and love how he's always willing to irritate the left ... but I hate that he picks moments to do it when he's just dead wrong" (TPA was the example I had in mind particularly, that just simply wasn't the issue on which to try to dive on his sword afaic)

Huckabee: We've know Huckabee for what seems like decades. Nice guy, good speaker, way out there politically.

Much like Santorum, my overwhelming since of Huck's candidacy in 2016 is based almost entirely on his 2012 campaign. I've gotten virtually nothing from their current efforts (do they even exist?), they feel like ... time capsule candidates or something.

Carson: The mature, half-asleep approach is pleasant, but I still have no idea what he wants to do in office.

Like Fiorina, a candidate that needs to pick positions & own them one way or another (read his various immigration quotes & statements over the past 5 years, see if you can figure out where he really stands, damned if I can)
I like the guy in theory, he just feels so incredibly weak to me that my initial enthusiasm at his campaign announcement faded very quickly & I'm now largely disinterested in him & by him.