Christie Bests Rubio in GOP debate while Cruz and Trump Coast

Why isn’t Chris Christie among the frontrunners?

Even if intellectually I know why Christie hasn’t broken out, I can’t help but wonder that after watching the last debate before the New Hampshire Primary.  Christie provided one of those moments that reminds you of how much talent he has, at his best, as a retail politician and leader—and frankly it’s a sign of the depth of talent in the 2016 GOP field that he hasn’t been able to firmly establish his position.

Christie’s one-on-one confrontation with Rubio  may end up being one of the pivotal moments in the campaign season. Christie’s Alpha personality was on full display and he really rattled Rubio, who repeated identical talking points, several times in a montage that I expect we’ll be seeing in campaign commercials soon enough.   Rubio recovered and had a much better 2^nd part of the debate (his answer on abortion was particularly good, and his putting Democratic extremism on this issue front and center is exactly how Republicans should handle this question—but never do.)  Nonetheless, his unfortunate tangle with Christie is what I suspect voters will remember.

Rubio is one of the best political communicators I’ve ever seen, but he always comes off as very “relatable” in an Oprah-ish kind of way.  You can’t help but like the guy, but can voters picture him as the Commander-in-chief? He doesn’t carry himself in the way that  Presidential nominees traditionally have.  Maybe Rubio’s confessional approach will fit well with the 21^st century voter.  But his rivals are betting otherwise, which is why you saw them really go after him tonight with  success.

As for the other frontrunners, Trump and Cruz, they were notable mostly by their absence as targets.  In Cruz’s case that makes sense.  He’s not expected to challenge for victory in New Hampshire, which Gallup recently pronounced as the least religious state in the nation—a third place finish would be a victory for Cruz here. However, Trump’s going unscathed (other than by some audience booing) was somewhat more surprising—indicating that either some of his competitors have either conceded his victory here or have simply decided that Rubio is the more important target to take down.

Cruz had one stellar moment that registered on social media as the highlight of the debate—the emotional story of his failed attempts to rescue his sister from the ravages of drug addiction.  It’s a story that Cruz has told several times in various situations, but none to an audience as big as this one.  It showed a vulnerable side to Cruz that voters rarely see, and, providing a human touch outside of the media caricature.  

Bush had one of his stronger performances and landed a good punch on Trump’s dubious history with eminent domain.  His performance here, combined with a decent showing at the polls, could breathe some new life into his candidacy, especially as establishment competitors such as Fiorina and Kasich bow out.

Speaking of Kasich, I just don’t get the appeal.  His answers alternated between pandering and meandering, and he didn’t have a good night.   He may be able to sneak in a good showing with New Hampshire’s huge swath of independent voters, but how does that help him when we move further down the calendar, when actual Republicans make up the vast majority of the electorate.  He’ll be lucky to top the 17% Jon Huntsman took here using Kasich’s same electoral strategy.  And Huntsman dropped out immediately thereafter.

Carson, outside of an effective, but calm confrontation with Cruz early in the debate regarding the Cruz team’s Iowa tactics, also failed to register here, and obviously Fiorina didn’t either.  Their days as factors in this campaign would appear to be numbered.

Finally, why does the GOP allow folks like Martha Raddatz (whose biased questions of Republican, and especially conservative Republican, candidates are notorious)  moderate its debates? And why is George Stephanopoulos, whom people of my generation know mostly as an ambitious political operative for Bill Clinton, playing any role at all in the 2016 campaign coverage?  If the RNC won’t even call the media out on its politically biased nonsense in the primaries, I shudder to think what will happen in the general election.