Who won the main Fox debate?

[Dorko Julio]

Cruz was alright. Not my favorite debate from him, but he held his own in the end. He's probably a winner because he didn't hurt himself.

Hmm, that is disappointing.

Some people seem to think he did to be fair, I think it's because he seemed more subdued and took some hits from Rubio and Paul. But overall he seemed like the some ol' Cruz.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I'll also point out that I think that those who are bullish on Trump are now making the same mistake that Trump-skeptics have been making for months now. That is, they are treating the national media's reaction as indicative of the state of the race.

In reality, we probably won't know much about how Republican caucus-goers are reacting to this until we see the caucus results. But we shouldn't assume that national media attention and punditry are leading indicators for this.

You're right, but it's much easier to make the assumption that the groupthink and acceptance of a cult from these hardcore supporters will be continuing even though Trump made a ridiculously risky move. No guarantee but extremely likely to continue.

[DavidB.]

The Trumptards on this board make this forum's IQ levels drop like a rock

Yes. And sigged.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Christie won this easily.  If you are looking at this debate and asking who you want up against Clinton, he's the person I think you'd want to choose. Why is he doing so poorly in this poll?   

Jeb had a decent night also.

[Adam the Gr8]

Jeb, finally.

[Edu]

This isn't oficially a Who won the debate poll, but we all know the intent of this.

[This account no longer in use.]

I would actually like to thank you for this thread. I have put everybody who emptyquoted the Trump support on ignore. Cheers!

[IceSpear]

This isn't oficially a Who won the debate poll, but we all know the intent of this.

Though it obviously shows Drudge's bias when he asks that rather than the typical "who won?" question he asks after every other debate.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

This isn't oficially a Who won the debate poll, but we all know the intent of this.

Oh yes the idiot drones at fascist Drudge are a good indicator of anything, they mindlessly follow Trump and other far right nutjobs like drones what's new?

[Maxwell]

This forum is the biggest ṡhit show I think I've ever seen in my life. The so called "staff" members of this community should be embarrassed, frankly.

On topic, Jeb had a nice night and Rand also did well. Ted stayed above the water.

Then get out if you think that.

I'll agree with the people who say Trump did by not showing up - the rhythm was uncomfortable, formulaic, odd without Trump's presence. He's really the center of the room when he's there and when he leaves there is no center of the room.

That being said, I thought Paul had his best night yet, and Cruz as always knows how to handle himself, though I can't count how many times he annoyingly said some form of "jeff sessions, steve king, steve king, jeff sessions". Christie as always is going to kick everyone's ass.

Most of the time, though, I felt like there was nothing going on. Dust was falling on the podiums. I particularly felt this when Bush, Carson, or Kasich were talking - time would almost stand still, and they were saying nothing of importance. Anti-relevance.

[Sasquatch]

TRUMP for not going (sane)

[Maxwell]

This isn't oficially a Who won the debate poll, but we all know the intent of this.

Oh yes the idiot drones at fascist Drudge are a good indicator of anything, they mindlessly follow Trump and other far right nutjobs like drones what's new?

[Peeperkorn]

TRUMP for not going (sane)

[Landslide Lyndon]

Here is Taegan Goddard's take.

https://politicalwire.com/2016/01/28/the-7th-gop-presidential-debate/



The seventh GOP presidential debate was an odd combination of vicious attacks and boring, rehearsed stump speeches.

Donald Trump came out unscathed. If he got a chance to watch, he must have been very amused seeing his rivals kill each other. After showing video montages of his rivals flip-flopping on issues like immigration, one can only imagine the montage Fox News had planned for Trump. He was a big winner by not being there.

Of those debating, Jeb Bush had the best night. He showed himself to be the most thoughtful person on stage. He appears to have actually discussed these issues before and was especially effective challenging Rubio on immigration. Without Trump on stage, it was as if Bush could finally relax and be himself.

Rand Paul was also very effective. He stands by his positions — such as surveillance and immigration — no matter how unpopular. He also had the crowd stacked with supporters which helped.

Ted Cruz came out early trying to mock Trump but it flopped badly and he never mentioned the GOP frontrunner again. He spent the rest of the debate being attacked by everyone. It’s almost as if Trump is right when he says, “No one likes Ted.” It was not his strongest night.

As for Marco Rubio, he just speaks too quickly. He’s not polished, as some claim, he’s programmed to avoid answering questions. He talks like a robot. His best moment was when he unloaded on Cruz over immigration but he’s had much better debates.

Chris Christie made sure everyone knows he’s a governor and that Cruz and Rubio are not. He took every chance he could to attack Hillary Clinton but he made little effort to distinguish himself as a better choice than his rivals.

John Kasich must have been thinking about New Hampshire because he didn’t really show up tonight.

Ben Carson never really shows up. I’d be surprised if his total speaking time was much more than five minutes.

Finally, no matter what Trump says, Megyn Kelly is actually a pretty good moderator. She was tough in her questions and didn’t let anyone push her around.

[Maxwell]

I didn't get any newfound confidence from Jeb - he still seemed to answer every question like he always does: with no stature. Jeb is a very tall guy, but he always seems like the smallest guy in the room. He just does not project a commanding leader.

[SillyAmerican]

My take on the performances.

Donald Trump: It was nice not having Trump's entertainment factor on the stage. He probably did himself and the other candidates a favor by staying away.

Chris Christie: I think Christie had the best night of those on stage. When Cruz and Rubio got into it over immigration, Christie was good at pointing out that it's fine for Senators to argue in that way, but that Governors have to lead. So he made sure everyone understood that he’s a Governor, and as such is ready to act as the country's executive. And his closing statement about being the candidate most qualified to protect the country was quite powerful.

Rand Paul: Paul did a very nice job of laying out his positions for viewers, and making the case that he was the one fiscal conservative on the stage. He had a large number of supporters in the audience, which served to help solidify the impression that he did well.

Jeb Bush: Jeb actually had a decent night, perhaps because he didn't need to worry about Trump jabs. Unfortunately, he really didn't have any particularly memorable moments, so for the Bush campaign, I believe it's a case of too little too late. We'll see how things go for Bush in the early voting states, but my sense is he's going nowhere.

Marco Rubio: It was not a good night for Senator Rubio. When he spoke, it was both rushed and a bit shrill. His tussle with Cruz was tiring. Normally, I like Marco's style, but his performance at this debate was not a help to him.

Ted Cruz: Ted tried to take an early swipe at Trump, but his effort fell flat. A little later, he whined that all the questions were an attack on him. The only halfway decent exchange was between Cruz and Rubio over immigration, but I happen to agree with Rubio that the issue is moot until the flow of illegal immigrants is addressed. Ted is generally good at debates, but in this case, he only served to illustrate why he's so unlikable.

Ben Carson: Carson did a nice job, but I don't think this debate format is his strong suit, so I don't see how this performance helps him.

John Kasich: Kasich did a nice job, but I'm not sure it will make any difference in his current standings.

[Wells]

I would actually like to thank you for this thread. I have put everybody who emptyquoted the Trump support on ignore. Cheers!

lol

[Vega]

TRUMP for not going (sane)

[Cruzcrew]

Rand did the best by making the fewest mistakes and effective,y staking out his positions and differences from the rest of the candidates. The paulbots in the crowd helped too.
Christie had the second best performance by effectively making a case for his experience to be president. He didn't make many errors.
I'd put  Rubio and Cruz in the same tier. They weren't bad but it was a "poor night" considering how much better they can do. Cruz arguing with the moderator was disappointing to see as that fell flat. Both of them We're caught on immigration. Otherwise they did well and gave effective answers.
Bush was ok but admitting he was establishment wasn't the best move.
Kasich has good ideas but fell flat as usual.
Carson-lol
I liked the debate without trump as it was more focused on policy and less about the moderators trying to instigate conflicts with trump and some other debater as well as the trump factor being thankfully left out.

[Torie]

Most improved was Bush, and next most improved was Kasich. I found the most flat Rubio who was just giving canned speeches. In fact, most of what was said were canned speeches because the moderators did not press. In fact, when Cruz totally failed to answer the question about whether he would revoke the medical insurance for a bunch of folks by repealing Obamacare, and what he planned to do about the uninsured, he totally failed to answer the question, and Chris Wallace did not call him on that. That happened quite a bit - ignore the question, and give a canned speech.

I think Cruz and Rubio did the canned speech routine deliberately, because to the extent they could get away with it, it was like free commercial time, and given the tight time constraints, that was more productive than trying to persuade voters that you were thoughtful and informed, and saw the other side of the issue, and made your decision despite that because of whatever, and so on. That is what I like to see in candidates: how their mind works, not how well they can deliver focus group tested canned speeches.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

According to Vox, Trump won for not showing up.

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[Torie]

Monday night will give us a better indication of whether Trump "won or lost" the debate. I suspect the results will suggest LOSER. In fact, it would not totally surprise me if Trump, Cruz and Rubio are all tightly packed together in the mid 20's. That will not be good for Donald. It will bring him back down to earth. His poll numbers seem to have stalled lately. Now it's time for them to start eroding. Let us pray.

[EliteLX]

This forum is the biggest ṡhit show I think I've ever seen in my life. The so called "staff" members of this community should be embarrassed, frankly.

On topic, Jeb had a nice night and Rand also did well. Ted stayed above the water.

Then get out if you think that.

I must need to repeat myself. A large group of the community users, that reflect the intellect of a teenager, trashing the board is not a reason for any of us sign out permanently. It's actually more of a reason for community moderators and administrators to enforce anti-spam/trash post rules in a more harsh way.

Some of the Hillary Hacks and Satire Trumpers have turned the forum more toxic than TRP.

[James Monroe]

TRUMP for not going (sane)

[Averroës Nix]

Remember that "[X] is a victory for Trump" is by now the safest conclusion to draw under almost any conceivable circumstances. (If we rule out admitting ignorance, at least.)

Anyone who predicts that an event will harm Trump's standing risks ridicule if that prediction is not correct, especially if they have speculated on his likely demise once or more before, which is something that most observers have done.

In contrast, Trump's invulnerability is now received wisdom and no one risks individual blame or loss by repeating it, even if that turns out to be spectacularly wrong.