Man, do I love televised debates! Maybe it’s because of my background on my high school's debate team, or maybe it’s just because I am guaranteed a laugh (especially when following the live Tweets), but regardless, it is safe to say that come 9 p.m. I had dropped what I was doing, thrown some popcorn in the microwave, and hunkered down on the couch.

Thursday’s debate in Cleveland, OH featured the top ten Republican candidates who are hoping to secure the opportunity to run for President in 15 months. For those of you who did not watch the debate and may not be as politically savvy as some, meet The Ten: The notorious Donald Trump; the former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush; the current Ohio Governor, John Kasich; the current Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker; the former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee; the current Texas Senator, Ted Cruz; the current Florida Senator, Marco Rubio; the current Kentucky Senator, Rand Paul; the current New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie; and finally, the retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson. Why anyone would want to spend billions of their dollars and months of their time so that the next four years they can watch their hair turn grey is beyond me, but it certainly does make for good T.V.

Now that we know our players, let’s introduce the questions on today’s show! The topics brought up ranged from the economy, immigration, Medicaid, abortion, the Iranian negotiations, ISIS and NSA surveillance. Not only were the candidates competing against each other on the issues, they also tried their hands at a few jokes. The jokes ranged from Paul accusing Trump of buying off politicians to Trump implying that he thinks Rosie O’Donnell is a “fat pig”. By the way, Rand Paul could make an excellent comedian if the whole President thing doesn't work out for him. There was also something in there about Christie hugging President Obama. I'm still a little confused as to the relevance of that ‘dig’, but it was certainly made to sound scandalous. Needless to say, if you did not catch the debate, it is definitely worth a quick Google search.

What sets this particular debate apart from prior debates is that for once the average American citizen has a unique connection outside of politics with one of the candidates: Donald Trump. He, in case you have not heard, has very quickly caught the media's attention with his passionate and often times controversial speeches. This debate happened to be the most watched debate in history, raking in 24 million views on FOX News and I'm sure Trump is taking plenty of credit for that.

By now we are used to dissension between the Democrats and the Republicans, but this time around we are also getting a glimpse into just how torn up the parties are within themselves. The Republican Party is irrefutably divided. Each candidate is an individual with different viewpoints and strategies. What remains the same regardless, is that it never matters whether the candidate is going for Governor or President, is a Republican or Democrat, man or women, conservative or liberal, etc. In the few hours of the debate, all that truly matters is how the candidates represent themselves and how they go about answering the questions fielded to them.

The candidates may have an idea of what they are going to be asked ahead of time, giving them plenty of time to prepare their answers, but how they handle themselves live while being surrounded by their potential constituents and competitors, tells a lot about how that candidate could handle office. As always, actions will speak louder than words, but these early glimpses during more chaotic public speaking events such as this debate are crucial to discovering who is the best candidate.

I won’t sit here and tell you who won the debate, from a technical standpoint in how the questions were answered, from how the people seemed to feel about who won or even in my own personal opinion. That’s up for you to decide. So if you have not already, go watch it. Research the candidates. Then take a glance at the Democratic candidates (their debate will take place in October). Start to form your own opinions on who would make a good President based on these candidates platforms and history, as opposed to the slander floating about around them. And when the time comes, get out there and GO VOTE. One of these candidates may soon have an impact on your life, and maybe even your tuition.