<p>Tonight&#8217;s Republican Debate in Las Vegas was run by CNN, the moderators were Wolfe Blitzer, Hugh Hewitt and Dana ;Bash, a very good group. As mentioned in previous debates, I make no judgement as to the legitimacy of their opinions on the issues, but rather how I believe their performance will affect their candidacy.</p>
<p><em><strong>This debate was defined by a couple of battles,ably orchestrated by CNN moderators:</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Jeb vs. Donald</strong> &#8211; Donald won this for the most part, and Bush appeared weak at times (and Jeb indeed got &#8220;smooshed&#8221; by Donald, as only Donald can do). At first, I thought Jeb was crazy for taking on and insulting Donald, and seemed a bit awkward at first because frankly Bush&#8217;s policies are not well known.</p>
<p>This was good for Trump, but it also was good for Jeb because in viewers&#8217; minds it put the two on par. After these exchanges it was clear that Jeb was being paid attention to. The &#8220;smooshes&#8221; were devastating in the first debate, but not so much now, because people are used to it.</p>
<p><strong>Rubio vs. Cruz</strong> &#8211; These were very eloquent exchanges, highlighting the differences between the two (after all they ;are both Republican junior Senators, with Hispanic ethnicity). Rubio in general made accusations that Cruz has ;equivocated in his views, but Cruz responded ably. Both candidates clearly benefited from the exchange.</p>
<p>I believe ;Cruz came out ahead because, first, he was able to call Rubio a liar (which stung a bit) and second, Rand Paul ;added another voice in his attacks Rubio. But Rubio displayed considerable and impressive knowledge of detail.</p>
<p><em><strong>My score of the individual candidates:</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>Trump +1</strong> &#8211; Trump&#8217;s battle with Jeb Bush gave him extra time to present his views in his usual and very effective ;manner.  ;Trump&#8217;s only really bad moment was when his lack of understanding of technology allowed others to assume ;he would shut down parts of the internet. While I believe the issue had little effect on short term perception in ;the audience, it may open the door to future attacks. (Donald!  ;Use these words! &#8220;We want to deny ISIS the use of ;the internet as a recruiting tool&#8221;). ;</p>
<p>The battle with Bush made Trump seem strong and gave him more airtime. Several times he was able to double down ;on his issues, a tactic that always works for him.</p>
<p>We award Trump only a single positive point, because this debate reinforces his lead but does nothing earth-shattering ;for him. His lead is secure for the moment.</p>
<p><strong>Cruz +6</strong> &#8211; Cruz&#8217;s battle with Rubio presented Cruz in a positive manner, as he ably defended himself againsts ;Rubio&#8217;s attacks. Cruz made a very nice refinement of Trump&#8217;s &#8216;ban muslims&#8217; policy which provided a very nice moment of &#8216;presidential&#8217; moderation and understanding. ;</p>
<p>Cruz&#8217;s demeanor is much better, not as preachy as he has been in the past. This is perhaps the result of renewed ;confidence as he rises in the polls (overtaking Trump in Iowa).</p>
<p>Senator Cruz gets a high score because his battle with Rubio highlighted and distinguished his views. This plus ;his positive adjustment in demeanor makes him a winner. ;</p>
<p><strong>Rubio +4</strong> &#8211; Senator Rubio once again proves he is the most well informed candidate on the stage, his grasp of the ;details was impressive. While the battle between Cruz and Rubio helped him by allowing him to show his skills, he ;was damaged just a bit when Rand Paul joined in. ;</p>
<p>I believe he has heightened confidence with his increasing poll numbers, this debate put him in a good light and will improve his position. ;</p>
<p><strong>Bush +3</strong> &#8211; Governor Bush had a reasonable night mostly because the moderators were able to set up a &#8220;battle&#8221; with Trump.  ;He called Trump the &#8220;Chaos candidate&#8221; and told Trump &#8220;you can&#8217;t insult your way to the ;Presidency&#8221; but, as mentioned above he did get smooshed by Trump.</p>
<p>We awarded him positive points, because he may be able to used this performance as a wedge to push his campaign forward and his poll numbers up. We will see though, his campaign has been bogged down so far.</p>
<p><strong>Fiorina -4</strong>  ;Ms. Fiorina eloquent as usual, very well spoken, if a bit highbrow at times. Her points were well ;made and cohesive.  ;However she did very little to stand out. ;</p>
<p>While we believe she did OK, Ms. Fiorina did not do as well as she has done in previous debates. Also she has ;never been able to take advantage of her debate performances in the past. I suggested after the last debate she needed a new campaign team. At this point, I believe her journey is done.</p>
<p><strong>Paul -1</strong> &#8211; Senator Paul had a decent debate, he contributed some very cogent arguments and his attacks on Rubio hit home.  ;However we declared his campaign dead two debates ago, and nothing happened here to change that judgement. ;</p>
<p>He continues to be on stage because he has a diehard following who will likely stick with him to the end. In ;retrospect, his performance has markedly improved over time, which bodes well for his future. But this campaign will go nowhere.</p>
<p><strong>Kasich +1</strong> &#8211; Governor Kasich provided very reasonable dialog and was at times passionate in his views. He was effective in using his ;record in Ohio as a differentiator.</p>
<p>But I believe his lack of a &#8220;battle&#8221; opponent left him a bit of an orphan ;with no differentiator.  ;His performance was good but we only gave him one point because we believe this ;performance will not help his poll numbers.</p>
<p>We will not declare his candidacy dead yet, but he needs a serious boost from somewhere. This debate did not do it.</p>
<p><strong>Christie +0</strong> &#8211; Governor Christie&#8217;s performance was actually very good, but like Governor Kasich, his lack of a ;&#8220;battle&#8221; opponent marginalized him in comparison to Trump, Bush, Cruz and Rubio. Christie did manage to ;distinguish himself by carving out his niche as a veteran fighter of terrorism in a most personal way. ;</p>
<p>Despite some very good rhetoric, this performance will not help Christie because his campaign has not been able ;to take advantage of Christie&#8217;s unique (and formidable) characteristics. I&#8217;m a fan of Christie, but at this point I&#8217;m declaring his ;campaign deceased.</p>
<p><strong>Carson -7</strong>  ;&#8211; Dr. Carson&#8217;s debate was characterized by low energy, lots of blinking which made him seem very ;unsure of himself, and answers lacking detail and conviction.  ;This was his worst debate so far.</p>
<p>Dr. Carson has started to slip in the polls, I&#8217;m predicting his numbers will fall rapidly over the next month.  ;This ;debate will hasten his campaign&#8217;s demise. Not dead yet, but he will need something spectacular to reverse this trend.</p>
<p>This was the best run Republican debate so far, the moderators were fair, the questions were ;serious and all candidates got a reasonable chance to express themselves. Their encouragement of certain battles ;perhaps provided an effective advantage ;for Trump, Bush, Cruz and Rubio.  ;If the other campaigns are smart, they will orchestrate their own battles for the next round. ;</p>
<p>As an aside, CNN commentators before and after the debates appeared particularly moronic at times.  ;I found ;myself wondering why CNN contributor Amanda Carpenter was allowed to continue to talk. She clearly has no grasp ;of the issues, and passionately expressed her non-sensicle opinions.</p>