Andrew McCarthy weighs in on the debate last night, giving a paragraph for each of the candidates with one conspicuously missing. Bet you’ll never guess who!
So below is his take on a few of the candidates, Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz. You’ll have to jump to his article to read the rest:
NATIONAL REVIEW – 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).
Ted Cruz is my favorite of the candidates. He is a real conservative, a brilliant lawyer, and is willing to fight an entrenched bipartisan political class that badly needs fighting. He was fantastic on the Iran deal last night, getting a big assist from the fantasy land inhabited by Rand Paul and John Kasich, who suggested, in respective echoes of the Obama administration, that Iran may comply with its obligations and that the sanctions can be readily “snapped back” when Iran (inevitably) cheats. Like several of the candidates, Cruz was shortchanged on debate time, but he demonstrates great intelligence whenever given the chance. If he has a problem, it is that he is too polished an orator and debater – he sometimes seems to be giving a speech even when the moment calls for something more friendly, informal and spontaneous. He is the most conservative viable candidate, so hopefully he will improve on this score. A conservative can win over non-conservatives, but to do it requires charisma, and coming off as long on common sense and short on lecturing.
I find it very interesting what he said about Ted Cruz. I made a similar comment last night:
I really like Ted Cruz, but sometimes I think he sounds too much like a politician, even thought I like what he says.
— Right Scoop (@trscoop) September 17, 2015
So apparently it wasn’t just me that noticed it. I do agree that Cruz is my favorite candidate as well, but he’s got to take a little of the polish of so he doesn’t appear so scripted in the debates. He doesn’t have to change what he says though because it’s very solid, just the manner in which he says it.
As far as Trump goes, I agree with him on substance. But I do think Trump has staying power, at least until some of the other candidates drop out. Only when the field whittles down a bit will it become more competitive.