August 6 marked the first of many debates in the race for the presidential election. Fox News hosted the debate strictly for the GOP candidates running. The first debate, held early in the evening, included the seven lowest-ranked candidates, while the prime-time debate included the top ten candidates. These top candidates included Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie and John Kasich.
After all the questions were asked and answered, here is what I inferred about each candidate:
Donald Trump: So far, Mr. Trump has not thrown up the white flag saying he was joking all along, and he’s actually leading in GOP polls. During the debate, he was dominating the questions thrown his way, and he had all the answers people wanted to hear. Mr. Trump was asked many questions about his past and was forced to defend himself a couple of times about where he stands in his candidacy. A self-declared Republican, even though in the past he has declared himself a Democrat, who wants to make America better. How will Mr. Trump “make America better?” Well, we didn’t really find much of that out except him buckling down on illegal immigration and border patrol. It is safe to say that Mr. Trump gained more publicity (bad and good) during this debate disregarding his comments after the debate.
Jeb Bush: Bush is a former Florida senator. Many view him as a weak Republican because of his soft views toward illegal immigration. He fared well during the debate, answering questions about Iraq well, and he did not pass up the opportunity to speak directly to Trump. His big question of the night was about his knowledge about the donations he gave to the Bloomberg charity that were being used to grant Planned Parenthood. He claimed to have no knowledge about the grants, but who really knows.
Scott Walker: Walker is a very “run-of-mill” Republican candidate. He says everything Republicans want to hear, especially if it involves Hillary Clinton. He didn’t make a big impression during the debate, but I am not sure he made a fool of himself otherwise. Well maybe when he said, “God hasn’t given me a set of the Ten Commandments ...”
Mike Huckabee: The former Arkansas Governor did ... OK. The one statement that made him stand out was his suggestion to re-fund Social Security using payroll taxes on capital gains and dividend income. He had a big rally following his statement about the importance of Social Security and how it needs to be kept in place for the decency of the retired.
Ben Carson: A doctor, who had lots of jokes to crack in his closing statement, really is pushing towards change for our children and their children to come. He brings a lot of knowledge to the group of candidates, but his lack of experience in government is concerning for some of the conservative voters.
Ted Cruz: Cruz is the son of a Cuban immigrant, and he will not let you forget it. He really spoke quite scripted, as if he recited all the possible questions he was about to get. Not much to say here except that he strongly believes in the power of faith.
Marco Rubio: Overall he had a good debate. He kept a low profile and jabbed at the other candidates when the time was right, especially about Hillary Clinton. He had some strong views toward not supporting exceptions to ban abortion for women in the cases of rape.
Rand Paul: He was always cast in his father’s shadow, but this debate allowed him to speak for himself and honestly he did a decent job. He was not afraid to ask the hard questions to other candidates, especially Trump and Christie. He was able to gain some ground in support following the debate.
Chris Christie: He had a lot to say, like always, but caught the eye of many Republican voters. The New Jersey Governor faced a lot of heat, but never let his emotions get the best of them. He was an easier target to degrade, after Trump, of course, because of his close relationship with President Obama following Hurricane Sandy. He declared a couple strong plans, but not sure if those plans were really memorable.
John Kasich: I will be honest, he is a favorite of mine, so I will be biased. Kasich was barely one of the top ten candidates but he made his time worthwhile because he probably knew it was pure luck that he was placed in the prime-time debate. I think he may have gained more young voters' support following his statement on gay marriage — that he would love his daughter regardless if she were straight or gay because, well, the supreme court law says it is unlawful to do any less. A lot of his debate was focused on “the little man.” He stood with what he knew and was pretty good at it, he failed to fall through the cracks with other high-rolling candidates standing just a few feet away from him.
And just to think, we have a little more than a year until the official presidential nominees in 2016 are finalized by each respective party.
