Ramaswamy, who with his other strengths is a veritable talking machine, came to Milwaukee with a big show, holding a “Revolution” party the night before the debate. Onstage, Ramaswamy began by lifting a line from former President Barack Obama, saying that uninitiated voters might be wondering, “Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name?” After that, Ramaswamy showed that he can be both an interesting, provocative candidate and a complete jerk. The peak moment was when the candidates were asked about climate change and Ramaswamy said, “I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this: The climate change agenda is a hoax.”

Accusing all your fellow candidates of corruption and claiming unique purity for yourself is not a way to start a serious discussion of an issue. (Especially since on the specific issue at hand, climate, most of the other candidates basically agreed with Ramaswamy.) Ramaswamy continued the insult routine with Haley and then with everyone else — he treated Pence as if the former representative, governor, and vice president just didn’t understand government. …

By the end of the debate, there was little doubt that all the candidates loathed Ramaswamy. The bigger question, though, was what did the voters think?

[Well, count me among the deeply unimpressed — but I *am* curious to see what impact this debate will have on Ramaswamy’s support. I also wonder how much of that support is actually for Ramaswamy himself as opposed to his potential as a stalking horse for Trump in the debates, because there is plenty of overlap visible already between those subsets of supporters. — Ed]