“Sen. Rubio is probably the most gifted candidate in the race. His command of the issues has already been observed by my fellow Corner denizens, but what is most attractive to me is his sense of himself. He does not feel the need to tell you he is young, bright, attractive, and likable – he just is. I do not envy shopworn Hillary Clinton or goofy Joe Biden the thought of a one-on-one against him. Rubio also showed some refreshing humility last night, confessing that it was a misjudgment to address illegal immigration in one massive piece of legislation, and suggesting that the enforcement components have to take priority. Conservatives are already favorably disposed toward Rubio but are suspicious when it comes to his instincts on immigration; he’s obviously working to allay those concerns and it’s effective – at least it’s effective on me. I still have questions about where he may be on radical Islam – not on terrorists but on the “moderate Islamists” that Washington is convinced are out there just waiting to align with us. But Rubio has obviously done his homework on more complicated issues, so there’s good reason to think he’ll get that one right, too.”
The night belonged to Carly Fiorina. It was too crowded, unwieldy and tediously Trump-focused a forum for there to have been more than a few memorable moments; in retrospect, she got all of them. Mrs. F has a razor sharp mind and a crisp delivery, especially when giving reactive answers rather than scripted ones. She combines these with an attractive dignity –she knew there was no need to lay it on thick in laying out Trump. Her skill set is tailor-made for debate forums. Now that she’s shown she belongs, she is going to get a different kind of scrutiny than she’s had before. It will be interesting to see how she handles it, but you can tell no one will be better prepared – she’s not going to be outworked.
I’ve never taken Trump seriously and last night his lack of seriousness was on display. I know what the polls say, but it’s mid-September. To my mind, what is notable about his candidacy has never had much to do with him. He is an exhibit that shows how angry the Republican base is at the Republican party, particularly over illegal immigration and, overall, the GOP’s fear of taking it to Obama. He is also a major celebrity in a culture sadly fixated on celebrity. But he’s not a conservative, he hasn’t really thought deeply about public issues (which is fine, unless you want to be president), and I just don’t think he has staying power. Maybe I’ll end up being wrong (wouldn’t be the first time) but I can’t get whipped up about him. It would have been a more interesting debate if CNN weren’t so whipped up about him (ditto Fox).