Ok, before I get into the candidates, there's a technicality to address. Why the hell couldn't FoxNews have just streamed this debate like every other morsel of live news chatter that normally hits their network? If you watched it on tv, you had no issues. But they just had to make it difficult for those online (we could diverge into Levin territory with his new book & the need to reach the 18-35 year-olds, ease of access, etc., but I'll save that for another time). Regardless of whether you had a cable provider or not, there were still issues getting connected. I finally got connected through a third party carrier nearly 30 minutes in. Disappointing. Anyway, to the crux of the debate...the candidates.
Carson, Walker, Rubio and, yes, even the Huckster (w/all his ConservativeReview issues) had a great night. I can't honestly say that one did better than the other, but for me, they were the standouts.
Personally, I'm a CRUZ supporter, and I still am today. He did great when the moderators actually asked him something. However, you saw it, they only gave him a couple of questions (might have been one more if they didn't shut him down in favor of a commercial break, WTH?!). Seriously, FixedNews really shafted Ted & Rand last night, all but ignoring them. It couldn't have been more obvious that they don't care for the crème de la crème of conservatism from the two Senators that have records to back them up. Rand didn't do himself any favors trying to spar, mind you, but still deserved attention. And as much as Ted has fought the establishment lately (similarly, Paul), I thought at least they'd have more to ask him. Instead, the commentators were already trashing Cruz during Levin's broadcast before the debate even began, and they typically ignored the libertarian. Unfortunately, these are becoming familiar tactics of the network.
Even with the Don in the supposed #1 slot, it was so obvious that 1.) FNC is stuck so far up Jeb's ass it's not even funny, and 2.) the moderators were unmistakably targeting Trump. More on the latter in just a moment, but I've got a rhetorical question: What the hell has happened to that news network? It's gone the way of MTV to music: all show, little substance. Why's it gotta be so pro-establishment? Now, they've joined the ranks of all the rest of broadcast media, which likely contributes to why I don't watch anymore. Ok, back to the candidates...
Now, to use an Obamaism, let me be clear, although I don't condone the take out approach to moderating, the answers Trump gave were not at all sufficient (on using the bankrupcy laws...Trump: 'Well, everybody does it!'; on donating to Clinton & Pelosi...Trump: 'I give money to everybody!'; on single-payer...Trump: 'Yeah, works over here, over there, could have worked here, that time's past for us now, though.'... Do huh? NO!). Though more articulate, the Jebster equally obfuscated with diversions or half truths. Both Trump and Bush, along with blowhard Christie and sly Kasich, all came off mighty phony to me (Kasich probably did the best to mask it, but I know too much of his weak record, and golfing w/Obama & Boehner doesn't help him either). If they could've tossed the phonies out, more room could have actually been made for a few from the earlier group! Such was not the case.
Switching gears for a moment, if we take a look at ConservativeReview and consider how the candidates are on the ACTUAL ISSUES, the short list cascades a little more like this (too bad RECORD didn't factor into FNC's format!):
Cruz
Paul
Walker
Jindal/Rubio (one 'bad' mark a piece)
Perry/Carson (two 'bad' marks a piece)
The rest honestly have too many 'bad' marks against them to seriously contend. Unfortunately, in today's choreographed broadcast media, the more reliably fair & balanced assessments continue to struggle to hold equal weight to mass media's not-so-much offerings.
Well, like I said, no where near the way I wanted the first GOP debate to go down, but there's my honest assessment of the whole show nonetheless. I don't know that there were actually any winners, per se, but the format, behavior & showiness of FNC definitely put the network on the short end of the stick, along with the viewers, unfortunately.
Yes, there's still just too many candidates to have an effective debate, but I wished we could have gotten more substantive questions in a two-hour window & deviated from all the talking points...and that's all the moderation, vis-à-vis, the network.
Related link: Biggest Loser in Fox News Debate Was Fox News, GOP Voters Shafted by Sham
ADDENDUM: Levin is SPOT ON!
Mark Levin: The big Fox News debate ‘wasn’t a debate, it was a REALITY SHOW’BIG missed opportunity, Fox.
