DONALD TRUMP: Donald Trump won this debate. He didn’t win it by being the best debater, or by having great moments, or anything of the kind. He won because he escaped virtually any attack and did nothing to make people back off from supporting him. His arguments on foreign policy and immigration were not effectively rebutted at all by others on stage. His mood was more subdued than prior debates, and he had fewer digs against the other candidates, but he seemed in command of the stage, and only Rand Paul effectively called him out on his normal brand of light-on-facts bluster.
JEB BUSH: Hey, that wasn’t so bad! It was even okay at parts. Certainly a weaker performance compared to the other candidates, but not bad for Jeb – and it was wise for him to avoid gunning at anyone other than Trump and Kasich. His answer on bailouts was weak – he seemed to be in conflict with himself on the followup – but otherwise he did fine. The media narrative that Jeb needed some rockstar performance this time was just dumb – he’s not the one most in danger of slipping off the main stage – he just needed to regain his footing, and I think he largely did.
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