Thursday, February 25, 2016

Tonight's debate

The final debate before Super Tuesday has ended, and it was the best debate so far. I think Cruz had his best debate tonight. Rubio had a good night. Kasich had by far his best debate, effectively portraying himself as a problem solver. Trump did not criticize Kasich or Carson, which tells me that he is hoping to get the votes of their supporters when and if they drop out of the race. Carson had a good night. He is for liberty and justice for all, and fairness. He also had one of the funniest lines of the night: "Can somebody attack me, please?" He wanted more air time, as he had since the beginning of these debates. However, air time goes to those who are getting the most votes, so it's a Catch 22 for Carson.

Trump resorted to calling Cruz a liar and Rubio a choke artist, because Rubio and Cruz ganged up on Trump, effectively revealing his many inconsistencies. Anyone who confronts Trump gets smeared. He didn't like a question from Hugh Hewitt, so he then pointed out that Hewitt's radio audience is comparatively small. Narcissists cannot stand not to be admired.

On the other hand, prior to this current campaign Rubio sent Trump a copy of Rubio's book, with words of praise for Trump's business success, so Trump refrained from criticizing Rubio at that time. Now it's a different story, since Rubio is pointing out Trump's inconsistencies, Trump calls him a choke artist, and his criticisms will only increase if Rubio continues to point out Trump's inconsistencies.

Rubio seemed to be the crowd favorite, often getting the biggest applause. He started the attacks on Trump, and Cruz jumped in with his own loaded weapon, a brilliant mind that includes a brilliant memory. Rubio threw right back in Trump's face the allegation that Trump was committing the previous Rubio "crime" of repeating himself. Remember when Trump effectively branded Rubio with that line in New Hampshire? I would say that Rubio did much tonight to recover from that wound. He also pointed out that Trump has hired many illegal immigrants, which would certainly seem to contradict Trump's current ideas about illegal immigration.

I thought Cruz was very effective when he agreed with Trump's criticism of Cruz that he was not a deal maker, which Trump clearly is. In doing so, Cruz also made points against Rubio for making deals with the likes of Chuck Schumer.

It will be good for Donald Trump's health that he is no longer going to eat Oreos because Nabisco is moving resources to Mexico. I have my doubts, though, that many Americans will follow Trump's lead on that one. We're hooked on Oreos.

Trump now says he will defund Planned Parenthood, but still maintains Planned Parenthood does a lot of good for the health of women in this country. Speaking of health, it looks to me that Kasich and Carson have the best ideas of how to replace Obamacare.

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