And that was just the line-up for the debate held at 5 p.m. EST for candidates polling outside the top 10 Republican presidential candidates. That debate, according to most pundits, was won by Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard.
But the real show took place later in the evening during the prime-time debate, which featured an even more impressive cast. In a debate predicted to draw the highest ratings in cable-news history, the candidates did not disappoint. It was a gripping debate, featuring probing questions (no softballs or gotchas) that pushed the candidates to move beyond their campaign talking points to take clear stands on important and timely issues.
Many of the candidates made strong defenses of conservative policy positions — former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee against the Iran nuclear deal, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for religious liberty and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on enforcement-first immigration policies.
The candidates seemed to be trying to outdo one another in declaring their opposition to abortion and its largest purveyor, Planned Parenthood. Walker defended his "no exceptions" stance on abortion, while Huckabee pitched constitutional personhood for unborn babies. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, when challenged by one of the debate moderators about his five years as director of a charity that partnered with Planned Parenthood, touted his solidly pro-life record as governor of Florida, which included defunding Planned Parenthood. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio also made a passionate plea for the pro-life position. Even Donald Trump declared his opposition to abortion, recounting his pro-life conversion story.
Some of the candidates defended perceived deviations from conservative orthodoxy. Bush defended his education reform ideas, which some critics say give too much control to the federal government. Ohio Gov. John Kasich mentioned recently attending a gay wedding. And Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul presented himself as a "different kind of Republican" — one who would advance a more modest foreign policy and address issues important to minorities, such as criminal justice reform.
Paul also tussled with Chris Christie over the National Security Agency's metadata collection program, accusing the New Jersey governor of misunderstanding the Bill of Rights.
The main losers of the prime-time debate were the two non-politicians, Trump and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Both appeared unversed in policy, refusing to directly answer detailed foreign policy questions.
As one Fox News focus group participant put it about Trump after the debate, "I walked in liking him because he wasn't a politician, but he skirted around questions like a career politician." Trump probably also hurt himself by refusing to rule out third party run.
What a change from four years ago, when a Republican field made up mostly of backbenchers and candidates who hadn't held office in many years stumbled and gaffed their way through 20 debates, leaving eventual nominee Mitt Romney bruised and battered for the general election.
At the conclusion of that campaign, Barack Obama had won re-election and Republicans were left wondering how they'd managed to lose the popular vote in five of the last six elections.
Thursday's debate was the first of 12 that the Republican National Committee has sanctioned. If the next 11 are anything like the first, Republicans may end up wishing they'd agreed to hold more of them.
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