I caught three-fourths of last nights GOP debate. Here are my observations:
* It was a good night for the Republican Party. The candidates generally did well, there were enough sharp exchanges to make it interesting, and the candidates collectively were saying what most Americans want to hear.
* The person who stood out the most, for better or worse, was Vivek Ramaswamy. Quite a few young people think he was the star of the show. I thought some of his answers were over the top, and he was so hopped up that a couple of times, I wondered seriously whether he might be on drugs. In future performances, he needs to tone it down.
* It was a good night for Ron DeSantis. DeSantis wins on substance, not style. But he had a solid presence and mostly seemed to be above the fray. Some observers expected the others to try to gang up on him, but it didn’t happen. DeSantis did a good job of touting his Florida successes without being obsessive about it. He was strong on the economy and crime. He was also good on abortion, probably my least favorite topic in these events, pivoting quickly to denouncing the Democrats’ extremism on the issue.
* Nikki Haley did very, very well. I have not taken her seriously as a candidate, but I will revise that view after last night. She was strong on foreign policy, chastising Ramaswamy effectively, but she did well on domestic policy, too.
* Chris Christie was there mostly to be the designated Trump-basher. He is talented at these events, but I thought he got off to a slow start, meandering in a couple of his early answers. He hit his stride when asked to go after Trump and finished strongly. He had one of the evening’s better moments near the end when asked about UFOs, plaintively saying, “I get the UFO question?” But I don’t see any way he can cobble together a constituency that will make him a serious contender.
* Mike Pence did well throughout and had an excellent moment when asked about his actions on January 6. For some reason, he was hyper-aggressive and was chastised a couple of times by the moderators. Pence tends to be under-rated by both wings of the GOP, but he actually is a good performer. We will see how far it gets him.
* Tim Scott didn’t seem to get a lot of air time. He generally did well, but I didn’t hear anything that made him stand out from the other candidates. He has a nice presence and could be a good vice presidential choice.
* Așa Hutchinson actually did quite well, but he didn’t answer the threshold question of why he was on the stage.
* Doug Burgum tore his Achilles tendon yesterday morning playing pick-up basketball. His participation was evidence of his determination and pain tolerance, but he was not up to par. Men older than 50 should not play pick-up basketball. I know several middle-aged men who have suddenly torn Achilles tendons, in every case playing basketball. They should stick to HORSE.
* The biggest loser was Donald Trump. I don’t care how many people supposedly watched his Tucker Carlson interview. (It takes all of two seconds to count as a “view” on Twitter.) The process to select the Republican presidential nominee started last night, and he wasn’t there. There is no world in which not showing up is a virtue.
So all in all, a good night for the Republican Party. I have nothing to say about the moderators, which means they did a good job. I’m looking forward to the next one.
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