I thought Kasich was the best candidate on the stage and it was not even close. LOL at Trump, Cruz, and Huckabee. Christie has no chance and Paul appears to be grasping for attention. Bush seemed on message at times but seemed to have trouble completing his points with confidence (sme off as scripted. Carson seems to want to be the candidate for building the military and flexing superpower muscle. Walker does not have the chops or the smarts for this. I thought Rubio did well. But I heard vey little from any of them that I thought would move the needle for any of them very much. I bet there is a Trump bump by Monday ... He got more applause from the live audience than anyone else.
Holy crap, were we watching the same debate? Trump was the only one who obviously hurt themselves, and had the most to lose - IMO. He is the only one who I absolutely would knock off the stage if we are have a serious debate. However, I think he adds value by making everyone else look better and increasing viewers by probably 3 or 4X. Remember GI, this is a Republican debate and they are fighting over the fringe and issues that can get them a niche following, or at least pass staunch "conservative" litmus tests for pro-life and looking tough enough for Hawks.
Nobody really jumped out and pretty much everyone else looked and sounded more Presidential than Hillary (an admittedly low hurdle).
Carson does not look ready for prime time. I would like to see him and Fiorina stay on the stage for a while though. He gets a mulligan for being new to the lights and action since he had some of the wittier responses.
Paul was too petulant and catty, didn't get any positive sound bites. Picked on effectively by others, Christie's point of talking in committees versus actually doing something would have been great if addressed at Cruz but landed squarely on Paul. We will see if his base is strong enough to keep him in the top 10, my guess is yes.
I would vote Cruz off the island first but he has too firm a grasp on some fringe elements. I don't like his look. His fighter BS is lame IMO, what has he really accomplished? All I can think is the old phrase growing up "You wanna fight? - Stick your head up your ass and fight for air" Stop being a belligerent blow hard and get some actual results.
Huckabee is likeable and has proven he can put together an effective ground game - he needs to stick around to neutralize Cruz support. Maybe too old and recycled (already had your shot) but hard to see falling off the top 10. Fair tax, good luck selling that on in one minute.
Walker will eventually lose votes to Kasich in the governors race, his claims to the last Federal surplus are powerful and he is more likeable/presidential. That is said even though Walker had some excellent zingers and good command of the issues. Walker may pick up some pro-life support but I don't like that dynamic in the long run for as far right as he positioned himself on that polarizing issue.
Kasich, Walker, Bush are probably vying for a lot of the same votes. Kasich can effectively position as more experienced in DC than Walker and Ohio swing state.
Christie was very effective at passionately attacking and will pick up Hawk votes, probably biggest winner from Trump and Paul losses. Paul, Christie, Cruz and Trump are probably tops for "fight the power" gravitas so attacking Paul was a smart move on his part. If nothing else, showed he belonged in the top 10.
Rubio might be the most polished and best speaker, if Obama taught us anything - delivering a good speech can carry an empty suit. Blue collar roots are strong and he articulates American Dream in excellent fashion. I love him as a VP, low on my list of preferences for President though. Hard to see him losing any ground.
Jeb - I came away reluctantly liking him. Won me with his state work on education (vouchers) and a rational, well thought out immigration policy. Separated himself from GW with stance on feds out of education and admitting openly Iraq would not be done with what we know today. Trump complimenting him wreaked of dynastic preference for a corporate slime ball and was my biggest knock on Jeb. For the primary voters, he probably lost them on immigration since they prefer to buy the gimmigrant rhetoric.
First three in for me: Jeb, Kasich, Walker
First three out for me: Trump, Cruz, Carson (reality Carson is most at risk of losing the seat to Fiorina, I think Paul has a good enough base of support to get some more swings at the piñata).
