The Republican presidential candidates squared off in Las Vegas on CNN. The 9 candidates discussed national security related issues. The debate, which is the last of 2015, had considerably more fireworks than the last ones.
Among the exchanges were a series of exchanges between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump that got personal at times. Both Ted Cruz and Rand Paul also took on Marco Rubio over immigration, Syria, and civil liberties. Paul also tangled a bit with Trump and Chris Christie as well.
Before going into how each candidate did, this writer believes that each candidate is coming out a little weaker tonight than before they went in. All candidates had strong moments, but each candidate also committed some errors.
Here’s how each candidate did, from best to worst:
Ted Cruz: Tonight’s clear winner. He handled Rubio well on civil liberties and utterly obliterated him on immigration. Cruz also made strong points about opposing the Libya and Syria interventions. However, Cruz made some blunders tonight. First of all, Cruz used weasel language by saying he “does not intend” to support legalizing illegal immigrants. Secondly, Cruz came off as weak when he declined an opportunity to attack Trump. Finally, Cruz didn’t press tie Rubio’s support for intervention in Libya to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as aggressively as he could have. Cruz will get a bounce tonight.
Chris Christie: Christie came off as a commander in chief and a strong leader. He proved to be one of the more aggressive hawks on the stage. His moment of the night was when Cruz, Paul, and Rubio were debating the USA Freedom Act and the NDAA; Christie pointed out that it was a Senatorial procedural debate that was boring most viewers. Christie though made some mistakes as well. His first was when he strongly supported shooting down Russian airplanes in a Syrian no fly zone. That led to a snappy comeback by Rand Paul (more in a bit). Also, Christie kept referring to 9/11 which could turn off voters. But Christie will likely get a bounce out of tonight.
Rand Paul: His best debate performance of the campaign. He was surprisingly strong on foreign policy. When the topic was regime change, he was truly in his own. He also passionately defended the Bill of Rights. Paul had the line of the night against Christie when he said “If you want WWIII, there’s your candidate.” after Christie said he would shoot down Russian airplanes. He held his own in other exchanges against Rubio and Christie. However, Paul made some mistakes tonight as well. He was too nasty and petty at times. For example, the bridgegate reference against Christie was probably unnecessary. While no one will accuse Rand of being an open borders advocate, he doesn’t wear the immigration crusader suit well. Trump also got the better of Paul in their exchange over the Internet and ISIS. Will Paul get a bounce? Who knows.
Jeb Bush: Also his best debate performance of the campaign. Jeb finally showed up to fight. He demonstrated that he has some knowledge of how to be a commander in chief. He was spirited and didn’t back down from Trump’s attacks. Jeb’s problem though was that he came off as whiny at times. It’s probably too little and too late for Jeb! at this point.
Donald Trump: Trump had the aura of a leader, which has been his biggest strength. He also has improved in his debate ability as this process has gone on. Trump’s two big weaknesses tonight were that he developed a thin skin when dealing with Jeb. Trump also wasn’t very knowledgeable on policy so much that Rubio had to correct him on what a nuclear triad is. Will this hurt Trump? Of course not.
Marco Rubio: Rubio had a rough night tonight. He had the chance to demonstrate his knowledge on foreign policy and did that well enough. Rubio also made a strong case for the NSA metadata program. However, he made some missteps as well. His non-answer on a path to citizenship will not endear him to the Republican base. Rubio also doesn’t wear the anti-immigration suit very well either. He also gave some Republicans concerns about whether or not he would be too prone to military adventurism. Finally, Rubio strangely kept going back believing that the Saudis and “moderate Syrian rebels” were the key to fighting ISIS. He’s better off asking for unicorns.
Carly Fiorina: Fiorina gave a decent answer on tech questions. Other than that, she was largely bland and unimpressive. The fire has gone out for Fiorina and it’s hard to see her in this race for much longer.
John Kasich: Good news for Kasich is that he wasn’t as cranky as last time. Bad news for Kasich is that he was sanctimonious, vapid, and dull. Kasich contradicted himself on the topic of regime change on several occasions. He is so far out of touch with the GOP electorate that it’s unreal. The only reason why he’s not last is because he doesn’t have as much to lose as the guy below him.
Ben Carson: Carson’s best moment was his first moment. In his opening statement, he called for a moment of silence for the San Bernardino shooting victims. Carson also handled well a fair question from Hugh Hewitt about whether or not he was willing to kill innocent civilians in war as President. Unfortunately, the rest of Carson’s answers were largely incoherent and he failed to demonstrate any real knowledge on foreign policy. Carson needed a good performance to stop the bleeding and he failed miserably. Carson also complained about his lack of talking time, but when he was given an opportunity to take a side between Cruz and Rubio in the liberty vs security debate, Carson refused. Carson’s a nice guy, but he’s simply not presidential material.
CNN and Salem Media generally did well tonight. Wolf Blitzer, Dana Bash, and Hugh Hewitt asked substantive questions and pressed the candidates hard. The only complaint is that they seemed to lose control at times.
The next debate will be on January 14, 2016 in South Carolina on Fox Business.
AAN Staff
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