I think this is right, note-for-note, from @charlescwcooke pic.twitter.com/TgUtYtZFmc
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) November 11, 2015
Very Serious Person / Media Village Idiot consensus seems to be that the “winners” at last night’s debate were Marco “Since Jeb’s Just Not Cutting It” Rubio and Ted “Republic of Gilead” Cruz. Cynic that I am, I still can’t see the Repub voters currently cheering Trump’s YUUUUGE VERY CLASSY deportation fantasies happily pulling the lever for either one of those two. So my working theory is that the RNC has decided to distract the rubes with some heavily hyped Cuban-American-on-Cuban-American action before the real candidates get rolled out after the Iowa caucuses; after all, both of these guys are Palin-hungry for some easy RNC money and a brand upgrade for their grifting tours, and both are young enough to run again in the future once they’re sidelined/given the veep slot in 2016. Feel free to argue, though!
Marco Rubio reminds me of many politicians I've known. Ted Cruz reminds me of many warlords I've known.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) November 11, 2015
Slate, immediately after last night’s debate:
Unlike the past two Republican prime-time debates, there was no clear winner on the Fox Business stage Tuesday night. Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, though, appeared to do the most to help themselves at a time when a chaotic nomination race is starting to slowly come into focus.
The two were poised and confident throughout the night, inserting themselves into the conversation when it served them and playing it safe when it didn’t. Rubio arrived in Milwaukee as many pundits and politicos’ favorite for the GOP nomination, and he’ll leave that way too. Cruz, meanwhile, stood out at a time when his slow-but-steady strategy is beginning to take hold…
The two men lived up to their reputations as the smoothest orators in the GOP field, but neither was perfect on Tuesday. While rattling off the five federal agencies he’d like to cut, Cruz needed to list the same one twice to make his self-imposed quota. “The IRS, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and HUD,” he said. (He blanked on the Department of Education.) Fortunately for him, though, the moderators moved on before he could go full Rick Perry. Rubio’s biggest misstep, meanwhile, came after a lengthy windup about the importance of being a good parent that ended with a distinctly different P-word. “The most important job any of us will [have],” he said, “is the job of being a president.”…
Who won last night? Rubio, according to 38% of @politico GOP insiders followed by Bush & Fiorina (12%) and Paul (8%) https://t.co/egmTqC4Fwq
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) November 11, 2015
That only 6% chose Cruz (fewer than Fiorina, Bush or Rand) says a lot about the sample group here https://t.co/PnHa9fOhYV
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) November 11, 2015
The Politico story in question:
… “Energy,” said an Iowa Republican of Rubio. “He wants the job.”
“By every measure Marco Rubio won the [night],” a New Hampshire Republican said. “Strong and informed on every issue, inspirational, presidential. He actually moved the ball down the field.”
Added a Nevada Republican, Rubio “gave a compelling vision for a hopeful future contrasting his youthful vision to a tired “older” take on the country epitomized by Hillary.”
For the second Republican debate in a row, the POLITICO Caucus named the Florida senator the biggest winner of the night, noting his vigorous defense of a muscular American foreign policy — one of the biggest applause lines of the evening — and forceful remarks concerning Wall Street as evidence of a strong and articulate candidate.
Forty-two percent of Democrats also agreed that Rubio won the night…
They do, however, note that “Ted Cruz impressed nonpartisan Caucus members. The Texas senator was ‘always focused, on message,’ according to one.”
Keep an eye on Cruz. He’s going to last quite a while in the primary process. He’s good at this.
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) November 11, 2015
if we figure out a way to convert sanctimony to energy we can run our entire country on ted cruz forever
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 11, 2015
The NYTimes, attempting to stay above the fray:
… In the most substantive Republican debate so far, Mr. Kasich and Mr. Bush, who have been fading in polls, presented themselves as experienced chief executives who had practical solutions to deal with national challenges like immigration. Yet Mr. Trump and another candidate, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, inveighed against what they called amnesty and argued that undocumented workers were driving down Americans’ wages.
The splintering over immigration, in a campaign dominated so far by the personas, speeches and backgrounds of the candidates, illuminated the brightest dividing line between Republican hopefuls like Mr. Bush and Mr. Kasich, who favor a comprehensive immigration overhaul, and the many primary voters who have embraced Mr. Trump’s harsh language about immigrants in the country illegally…
Mr. Rubio was not only able to avoid being drawn into the contentious immigration debate, but also repeatedly received questions that allowed him to answer with versions of his stump speech. Even he seemed unable to believe his good fortune when he was asked to make his case against Mrs. Clinton. He chuckled for a moment before unspooling a well-rehearsed argument: why he can prosecute a “generational” case against her.
“If I am the nominee, they will be the party of the past, and we will be the party of the 21st century,” said Mr. Rubio, 44…
The Times also gave Rubio and Cruz top billing on their “Highlights / Scorecard” page.
Reaching out to a lot of my evangelical friends. All my Carson leaning friends are talking about Rubio.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) November 11, 2015
fox turning the machine behind rubio i believe
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 11, 2015
The Economist, “Marco Rubio rises above the rest in Milwaukee“:
… The prize for the wackiest economic ideas probably goes to Mr Cruz, however gifted his rhetoric. He said he would let the Bank of America fail in case of another financial crisis and argued for a return to the gold standard. Mr Cruz also wants to close down the IRS as well as several federal departments. He wants so badly to put paid to the Department of Commerce that he mentioned it twice on his hit list.
The evening’s likeliest winner was the 44-year-old Mr Rubio, who was yet again confident and articulate and made a good case for a generational change. He was spared any questions about his shaky finances and the use of a GOP credit card for personal expenses. And Mr Bush, wisely, decided not to go after him with another aggressive attack (his attempt at putting down his former protégé had failed disastrously in Colorado). Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton’s campaign is said to be furiously researching Mr Rubio’s weaknesses…
Ted Cruz is great at debating, Marco Rubio is great at giving memorized speeches at debates, and Ben Carson is great at smiling
— Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) November 11, 2015
Still holding out hope that Camacho jumps into this primary pic.twitter.com/LONbiKRVK8
— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) November 11, 2015
Open Thread: “Let’s You & the Other Hispanic-Name Guy Fight!”Post + Comments (55)