GOP Debate Postmortem

 

I went to a fight last night and a debate broke out.

Last night we watched the 12th GOP Debate on CNN from the University of Miami in Florida. Everyone was surprised by the civility of the affair as the candidates discussed real issues as opposed to practicing character assassination.

This was a critical debate for Senator Marco Rubio and Governor John Kasich as their home states will be holding their primaries this coming Tuesday, Florida and Ohio respectfully. Should they lose on Tuesday, it is essentially over for them.

Afterwards, the talking heads on television were surprised how businessman Donald Trump appeared so presidential. It almost had them tongue tied, but not for long. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump remained in the epicenter of the questioning by the debate panelists and the other candidates.

I now believe the debates have outlived their usefulness as they have become tiresome. The candidates drone on and on with canned responses, to the point many listeners are subliminally tuning them out. There is very little ad lobbing except by Mr. Trump. Enough is enough though, people are tired of them and it is time to move on.

In terms of who won the debate, we really won’t know until Tuesday’s primaries. As expected, the political pundits said Mr. Trump was horrible, and Sen. Rubio was outstanding. This is in sharp contrast to a variety of polls who again clearly show Mr. Trump ran away with the debate:

DRUDGE
Trump – 52.31%
Cruz – 23.19%
Rubio – 13.13%
Kasich – 5.52%
NJ.COM
Trump – 79.5%
Rubio – 8.11%
Cruz – 5.97%
Kasich – 2.48%
PALM BEACH POST
Trump – 82.61%
Rubio – 8.59%
Kasich – 4.82%
Cruz – 3.97%
SLATE
Trump – 84%
Rubio – 7%
Kasich – 5%
Cruz – 3%
TIME
Trump – 80%
Rubio – 9%
Cruz – 5%
Kasich – 5%
Perhaps the pundits thought Senator Rubio did well due to the boisterous applause following each of his answers. This was to be expected as Miami is his home turf where he has many supporters. Perhaps more noteworthy though was how poorly Senator Ted Cruz scored in the debates. It appears the public is growing weary of his histrionics at the podium and is beginning to lose credibility.

Again, it was an interesting show but I’ll be curious to see the ratings following this. I suspect they will be lower than normal. It is my understanding two more GOP debates are planned. Frankly, that is two more than we need in this electoral process. Isn’t twelve more than enough?

Keep the Faith!