Grade the performances.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Ted Cruz: A+
Cruz had the best performance of the night, and his fiery attacks on the moderators were excellent. He put the moderators in their place. It was pathetic that the moderators asked questions that actually were biased (and I am not one to believe in the “lamestream media liebrul bias” conspiracy theories) and quite nasty. That is the soundbite that people will remember tomorrow.

Marco Rubio: A
Rubio was great as well, and he absolutely destroyed Jeb! by pointing out that Bush by pointing out how Bush is getting really desperate and portrayed Bush as a backstabber and power hungry politician. Rubio also positioned himself as a policy wonk that sort of negates his Senate absenteeism. I think he goes up in the polls.

Mike Huckabee: A-
He usually seems very bland, uninteresting, and phony. But I think he did well tonight. His best performance of the cycle so far, and in fact, better than anything from 2008 that I remember. He used his time effectively, and while he won’t be getting a bump, he will still be hanging around.

Chris Christie: A-
“Even in New Jersey we call that rude!” was a great line, and it went over well. He was doing quite well throughout the night and I think we could see, though I personally doubt it, a small bump in the polls. Especially when considering the Bush collapse. Christie is probably the only candidate who can effectively take on Trump and not be bullied, and fortunately, tonight was not the night to do so. The party is more united tonight than ever.

Donald Trump: B+
He did very well, but it was his most boring performance so far, mainly because the others did his bidding. He simply didn’t have to complain about the moderation as much, and seeing as how everyone was being equally dragged through the mud, there wasn’t much room for any personal attacks on other candidates.

Rand Paul: C
Eh, he didn’t do too poorly but he was completely eclipsed. He wont drop in the polls any further but I have a hard time seeing him going anywhere after this. He wont be dropping out until Iowa, too much is invested and he needs to keep his core for 2020/2024.

John Kasich: C
The only reason he isn’t a D or an F is the fact that he stuck to his guns about the attacks on Trump and Carson, though Trump pretty much silenced him when he brought up Lehman. Kasich, while not the worst performer, was the most vulnerable and along with Paul is most likely to end up at the kiddie table debate next time around.

Carly Fiorina: D
The media keeps pumping her up, but I thought she was pretty bland. Nothing memorable.

Ben Carson: F
Low energy, boring, and exposed as a paper tiger. He will probably drop down to third or fourth dramatically, because he really just appeared to be boring and without detailed ideas. But who knows what the base will do?

Jeb! Bush: F
Its pretty much over. He holds on through New Hampshire but Rubio is going to be the establishment man. He appeared prickly, tired, and angry through the whole thing.

[Lyin' Steve]

Mike Huckabee: A-
He usually seems very bland, uninteresting, and phony. But I think he did well tonight. His best performance of the cycle so far, and in fact, better than anything from 2008 that I remember. He used his time effectively, and while he won’t be getting a bump, he will still be hanging around.

Huckabee honestly seems like he's having fun at this point.

[defe07]

I agree with almost all the grades! Cruz and Rubio are going to get propped up, Trump will stay neutral, Rand could go either way, Jeb seems done and the rest are fighting for their issues.

[weixiaobao]

Nice commentaries.

[IceSpear]

A: Rubio, Cruz
B: Christie
C: Fiorina, Trump
D: Carson, Huckabee
F: Bush, Kasich, Paul

[/]

A - Cruz, Rubio, Christie
B - Trump, Fiorina
C - Carson, Huckabee
D - Kasich, Paul
F - Bush

[The Mikado]

My only disagreements are that I'd put Huckabee lower and Carson higher. Carson may be pretty much unable to string two sentences together or to maintain a consistent position on an issue from week to week, but that's apparently more or less irrelevant to his supporters so I'm not factoring that in. none of the digs against Carson, even the hilarious one that he shills for some snake oil organic cure, really stuck to him, and the audience grew visibly hostile at the moderators for bringing them up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQSoHRwtwvI

Here's Carson shilling for this snake oil.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

My one consistent failure this season is I constantly undervalue Carson. I always think he's lethargic, boring, empty-headed, reedy, aimless and with creepy hand gestures but obviously I'm not the target audience.

Anyway, a clear Cruz win. Rubio clearly leapfrogged Bush, the two frontrunners merely stayed their course and everybody else continued to sink into mediocrity.

[SillyAmerican]

A - Rubio, Christie, Fiorina
B - Trump, Carson, Cruz
C - Kasich, Huckabee, Paul
F - Bush

[Intell]

A: Trump, Rubio
B: Cruz, Christie, Carson,
C: Fiorina, Huckabee
D: Kasich, Bush
F: Paul

[The Other Castro]

A: Rubio, Cruz
B: Christie, Trump
C: Fiorina, Huckabee, Carson
D: Kasich
F: Paul, Bush

[VPH]

Marco Rubio: A+
Stood out as remarkably presidential and well versed on actual policy. Moreover, Rubio proved he could press other candidates on their records (his exchange with Bush was noticeable). Rubio looked like the right guy to bridge the moderate and conservative wings.

Ted Cruz: A
Cruz threw red meat to his base. I don't know how much he will rise in the polls, but he appeared as a strong conservative who stuck to his guns and added a sort of humanity to his usually dull persona.

Ben Carson: A-
Ben Carson, while to us, sounded awfully soft spoken and soporific, was actually pretty par for the course with his base. Evangelicals heard his message loud and clear, and he didn't lose ground, which was perhaps the most important thing he had to do. The moderators weren't particularly harsh on him either and he showed a bit of a more powerful side.

Chris Christie: A-
Christie took a while to get going but really stuck it to his opponents. He stood out not as a moderate, but a powerful attack dog. His strong rhetoric, especially against Dems, will help him grow in support.

John Kasich: B+
Kasich didn't have an awful debate, but Trump calling him out had to hurt. His response was okayish, but overall Kasich finally embraced a side of his personality that he needs to ride on; that of the angry moderate taking back his party. He also spoke to his credentials, which was good.

Donald Trump: C+
Trump didn't get wrecked, and he seemed nicer than usual. His mellowing up may entrench his lead. Then again, it may make him irrelevant. Also, his default responses didn't sound good because of a lack of details.

Mike Huckabee: C
The strange answer on the weakness question along with his language throughout made him seem odd, but on economics, he was the populist candidate, which may carry some appeal when Trump's inevitable downfall begins.

Rand Paul: C
Didn't stand out for any reason and barely spoke. He sounded good on policy specifics, but this won't save his campaign.

Carly Fiorina: C-
She seemed pretty irrelevant. In fact, she's worse for wear after the moderators picked at her record. She didn't have a watershed moment like last debate. 

Jeb Bush: D
Jeb! Yikes! He needed to stand out. The only things he stood out on were fantasy football and getting called out by Rubio. Yikes is the best way to describe it.

[Maxwell]

A - Rubio, Cruz, Christie, Trump
C - Fiorina, Carson
D - Huckabee, Kasich
F - Paul, Bush

There's a top tier, and then there's everyone else.

[JonathanSwift]

A: Trump, Cruz, Christie
B: Rubio, Huckabee
C: Carson
D: Paul, Fiorina, Kasich
F: Bush

[Kingpoleon]

Marco Rubio: A+
Stood out as remarkably presidential and well versed on actual policy. Moreover, Rubio proved he could press other candidates on their records (his exchange with Bush was noticeable). Rubio looked like the right guy to bridge the moderate and conservative wings.

Ted Cruz: A
Cruz threw red meat to his base. I don't know how much he will rise in the polls, but he appeared as a strong conservative who stuck to his guns and added a sort of humanity to his usually dull persona.

Ben Carson: A-
Ben Carson, while to us, sounded awfully soft spoken and soporific, was actually pretty par for the course with his base. Evangelicals heard his message loud and clear, and he didn't lose ground, which was perhaps the most important thing he had to do. The moderators weren't particularly harsh on him either and he showed a bit of a more powerful side.

Chris Christie: A-
Christie took a while to get going but really stuck it to his opponents. He stood out not as a moderate, but a powerful attack dog. His strong rhetoric, especially against Dems, will help him grow in support.

John Kasich: B+
Kasich didn't have an awful debate, but Trump calling him out had to hurt. His response was okayish, but overall Kasich finally embraced a side of his personality that he needs to ride on; that of the angry moderate taking back his party. He also spoke to his credentials, which was good.

Donald Trump: C+
Trump didn't get wrecked, and he seemed nicer than usual. His mellowing up may entrench his lead. Then again, it may make him irrelevant. Also, his default responses didn't sound good because of a lack of details.

Mike Huckabee: C
The strange answer on the weakness question along with his language throughout made him seem odd, but on economics, he was the populist candidate, which may carry some appeal when Trump's inevitable downfall begins.

Rand Paul: C
Didn't stand out for any reason and barely spoke. He sounded good on policy specifics, but this won't save his campaign.

Carly Fiorina: C-
She seemed pretty irrelevant. In fact, she's worse for wear after the moderators picked at her record. She didn't have a watershed moment like last debate. 

Jeb Bush: D
Jeb! Yikes! He needed to stand out. The only things he stood out on were fantasy football and getting called out by Rubio. Yikes is the best way to describe it.

Put Carson and Christie at B+ and B. Christie has good moments, but he never runs away with it. Carson was good, but it's not the debate that will give him coverage. It's the polls.

[Higgs]

A: Rubio, Cruz, Christie
B: Trump, Fiorina, Huckabee, Carson
C: Paul, Kasich
D: Bush