The Debate Last Night

So the debate last night was a bit more substantive that previously.  Just as much a bunch of lies, but lies about substance.
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You can't tell the players without a program.  So... here it is, Scott Walker and Rick Perry quit the race. George Pataki and Lyndsey Graham were kicked out of the debates for not polling enough.  Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum are still in the kiddie debates.  Chris Christy and Mike Huckabee (missing form above) were kicked down to the kiddy table debates.  Carly Fiorina was pulled up to the main stage after the 1st debate.  Ted Cruz (missing from above) is at the big kid's table.

Kasich (and Bush) tore into Trump about the impossibility of deporting 11 million people in a year, and tearing apart families.  Trump actually fought back fairly well without being a dick.  Ted Cruz (who is super creepy) supported him.
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Rand Paul questioned Marc Rubio's attempt to describe himself as "conservative" when he was going to cut taxes, but massively increase military spending - thereby blowing up the national debt.
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Ben Carson was a bit of a lump as the discussion revolved around policies and he doesn't really have any.  He was asked about the taxes as tithing - and again said if God only wanted 10%, then the government shouldn't want more than 15%.
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Carly Fiorina and Marc Rubio can vomit up their campaign speeches no matter how little it has to do with the question asked.  In fact when the moderators asked Ms. Fiorina AGAIN to answer the question, she simply rehashed her same non-answer.
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The audience booed the moderators whenever they asked a question that put the Democrats in a good light, even though it was framed as "This is the reality, how would you address it?"
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I came out of it liking Kasich, but since I am a realist and a Democrat that is probably the death knell for him.  Other opinions for me were unchanged.

• Bush can't campaign effectively.  He is not a good politician.
• Ben Carson has no real ideas and is simply here to sell books.
• Trump is entertaining, but his schtick is getting old.
• Ted Cruz is like the creepy uncle you are sure is on some sexual offenders registry.
• Rand Paul suggested we get the hell out of the middle east (yay!), and so he is toast for not being American enough.
• Carly Fiorina is an excellent liar.  Excellent!
• Marc Rubio sticks to his talking points in the face of anything.  He is a good politician, but not a bright guy.  I think if he got a Dick Cheney as VP, he would pretty much abdicate responsibility as Bush the Younger did.  So he scares me because you don't know what he thinks at all.

Also, I LOVE how Ted Cruz says, "My parents came here legally!" all the time.  Ted Cruz' dad is from Cuba.  Anyone who made it here from Cuba was legal because of the cold war.  It's not like they waited in line or anything.