Continuing my tradition of reviewing the Republican Presidential Debates (and Democratic Debates), which goes back to 2007, here's my take on what happened on Fox News in Cleveland tonight.
First, as a preamble, I thought the 5pm appetizer debate, consisting of the seven contenders whose polling numbers didn't qualify them (by Fox's standards) for the main event, was one of the most boring political debates I've ever seen. Sad to say, that debate made pretty clear why those seven candidates polled so poorly.
But on to the debate of 10, which took place from 9 to 11 tonight, I'll appraise this by ranking the performances from worst to best, on all the issues:
10. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon was amiable enough, but clearly out of his depth. I'll be amazed if his polling numbers don't dip below one percent in the weeks ahead.
9. Gov. Scott Walker, who was seen in reaction shots agreeing enthusiastically with whatever Carson was saying, didn't do very well himself. I can't think if a single surprising or memorable point he made.
8. Sen. Rand Paul came on strong with an attack on Trump at the beginning, and had a few good moments, but let Gov. Christie get the better of him in an exchange about hugs - Paul slammed Christie for hugging Obama, Christie responded that the hugs he most remembered were those of 9/11 victims. This reprised, in effect, the exchange about national security between Ron Paul (Rand's father) and Giuliani in 2007, except tonight Christie did much better than Giuliani.
7. Gov. Huckabee had some strong moments - his best his joke at the end, in which he talked scathingly about someone leading in the polls with no valid ideas, whom we expected to be Trump, but turned out to be Hillary - but for the most part Huckabee looked and sounded tired.
6. Sen. Ted Cruz was clear and dynamic, but I can't think of an original or commanding idea expressed by him.
5. Christie had a surprisingly good debate, getting the best of Paul, as I said above, but also making powerful points about his success as Governor of New Jersey (and, fortunately for him, no one brought up Bridgegate).
4. Gov. Jeb Bush, as second in the polls after Trump, had more than anyone other than Trump to lose. He accounted well for himself - spoke well, and came across as the compassionate conservative, especially on immigration, which is where he wants to be.
3. Sen. Marco Rubio came across as the man of the future - showing an understanding of the digital age - as well as compassionate and savvy on a variety of issues. He was well-spoken, genial, and incisive.
2, Donald Trump held his own, including even in his answer to Megyn Kelly's question about the vicious and demeaning things he's said about women, and later defending his declared bankruptcies in response to a question from Chris Wallace. For someone with zero experience debating and running in elections, Trump, whatever you may think of his views, stood strong up on that stage.
1. Gov. Kasich was the biggest surprise of the night. He was powerful without being belligerent, and like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio displayed what seemed like a real compassion for humanity.
So there you have it - an honest appraisal, without reference to my own political views, which are mostly in disagreement with everyone on the stage (I voted twice for Obama).
First, as a preamble, I thought the 5pm appetizer debate, consisting of the seven contenders whose polling numbers didn't qualify them (by Fox's standards) for the main event, was one of the most boring political debates I've ever seen. Sad to say, that debate made pretty clear why those seven candidates polled so poorly.
But on to the debate of 10, which took place from 9 to 11 tonight, I'll appraise this by ranking the performances from worst to best, on all the issues:
10. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon was amiable enough, but clearly out of his depth. I'll be amazed if his polling numbers don't dip below one percent in the weeks ahead.
9. Gov. Scott Walker, who was seen in reaction shots agreeing enthusiastically with whatever Carson was saying, didn't do very well himself. I can't think if a single surprising or memorable point he made.
8. Sen. Rand Paul came on strong with an attack on Trump at the beginning, and had a few good moments, but let Gov. Christie get the better of him in an exchange about hugs - Paul slammed Christie for hugging Obama, Christie responded that the hugs he most remembered were those of 9/11 victims. This reprised, in effect, the exchange about national security between Ron Paul (Rand's father) and Giuliani in 2007, except tonight Christie did much better than Giuliani.
7. Gov. Huckabee had some strong moments - his best his joke at the end, in which he talked scathingly about someone leading in the polls with no valid ideas, whom we expected to be Trump, but turned out to be Hillary - but for the most part Huckabee looked and sounded tired.
6. Sen. Ted Cruz was clear and dynamic, but I can't think of an original or commanding idea expressed by him.
5. Christie had a surprisingly good debate, getting the best of Paul, as I said above, but also making powerful points about his success as Governor of New Jersey (and, fortunately for him, no one brought up Bridgegate).
4. Gov. Jeb Bush, as second in the polls after Trump, had more than anyone other than Trump to lose. He accounted well for himself - spoke well, and came across as the compassionate conservative, especially on immigration, which is where he wants to be.
3. Sen. Marco Rubio came across as the man of the future - showing an understanding of the digital age - as well as compassionate and savvy on a variety of issues. He was well-spoken, genial, and incisive.
2, Donald Trump held his own, including even in his answer to Megyn Kelly's question about the vicious and demeaning things he's said about women, and later defending his declared bankruptcies in response to a question from Chris Wallace. For someone with zero experience debating and running in elections, Trump, whatever you may think of his views, stood strong up on that stage.
1. Gov. Kasich was the biggest surprise of the night. He was powerful without being belligerent, and like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio displayed what seemed like a real compassion for humanity.
So there you have it - an honest appraisal, without reference to my own political views, which are mostly in disagreement with everyone on the stage (I voted twice for Obama).
One of the pleasures of Masters of Sex for me this season is to see how well - both seriously and comically - Masters and Johnson's excursion in publishing has depicted. I have no idea if the two actually went through these experiences - actually, it's Masters who's leading the charge on this - but the point is that the experiences are valid and instantly recognizable to any published author who's not comatose.
A desperately good True Detective 2.7 last night, with two significant deaths, after last week's punch-in-the-gut episode 2.6 with Ani under cover as a drugged party girl.
An especially relevant Hell on Wheels 5.3 last night about ... prejudice, something which still obviously afflicts our society today.
Tina and I saw the first five episodes of Humans on AMC this weekend - based on the recommendation of a friend, Sarita - impressive!
Another excellent, fast-moving episode of Deutschland 83 last night - #106 - which has two especially grave developments for our hero, Martin.
The ending of Ray Donovan 3.2 last night says it all: Ray's attempt to get Carl to take the check and wrap up this situation that Ray has been called in to fix ends in a beat-down - of Ray.
I just saw a new documentary about the most powerful technology - nuclear weapons - not only in our lifetime but in all of human history, courtesy of PBS, where The Bomb is set to air for two hours (8-10pm) on July 28. I always judge a documentary by what I've truly learned from it that I didn't know, or didn't know enough about, before. There were several such moments in The Bomb including
Well, Tyrant finally got down to cutting-edge current-development brass tacks last night, in an episode, 3.5, which put the Caliphate aka ISIS front and center in the action. Not quite as currently relevant as a storyline about Iran, but pretty spot-on ripped-from-the-headlines nonetheless.
