I'm thinking there's going to be two big battles tonight.
1. The battle for the Soul of the GOP Establishment featuring Rubio vs. Jeb.
2. Will be a battle for the Soul of the GOP Outsiders between Trump and Dr. Ben.
3. Ted Cruz is the wildcard. He may well jump in a tag team Rubio with Jeb.
Nearly two weeks after a climactic battle in Boulder, Republican candidates take the stage tonight for a high-stakes clash that will shape the contours of the winter primary season.
Jeb Bush, who limped out of the last debate, is under perhaps the greatest pressure of all. With his poll numbers plummeting to the mid-single digits, the former Florida governor must prove he can handle his rival and one-time friend, Marco Rubio. Ben Carson, who has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over his personal narrative, will need to fend off an almost-certain offensive from Donald Trump. Chris Christie, a once-towering figure who rose to prominence through his larger-than-life persona, aims to demonstrate he can make a splash in the less-watched and lower-profile undercard debate.
And host Fox Business wants to prove it can put on a better show than competitor CNBC, which fumbled badly with its Republican debate last month.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/republican-debate-milwaukee-fox-business-215662#ixzz3r7tB1e7N
The question is will Trump go after Dr. Ben and if so, how much? He has certainly been attacking him on the stump but last debate he decided to be very gentle with Ben in person.
Dr. Ben promises to 'respond to unfair attacks' tonight. A tough talking Dr. Ben who is not going to be so low energy if attacked.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-gop-debate-215674#ixzz3r7u6cAyv
I must admit on Dr. Ben I've been going back and forth. Yes, on the one hand there is some truth to the idea that Presidential candidates often embellish their biographies. In all honesty Carson is not the first candidate to add a dose of fiction to his biographical account.
Yes, President Obama did use a girlfriend composite in his book and I didn't see what it mattered at the time. But part of Dr. Ben's thing is his embellishments seem to be so numerous and strange.
I feel like this is the first actual Bizzaro campaign-where slander is not saying you have a violent past but saying you don't have one.
Trump has been having fun with this on the stump. Even he's never seen anything like this; he wonders how it is that saying you tried to hit your mother with a hammer seems to raise your poll numbers.
The other big storyline is Jeb and Rubio. Jeb's super PAC is considering going very hard after Rubio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/politics/bush-allies-threaten-wave-of-harsh-attacks-on-rubio-an-ex-mentee.html?_r=0
Of course, the question that begs is why telegraph a hit like this? Jeb may just have some major leaks there. Are there Rubio people who have penetrated Jeb World?
With this backdrop it will be interesting to see how hard Jeb goes after Rubio tonight considering how much he was criticized for doing it last time. I think he has to do something. The time is past where he can just sit back and wait for this to come to him.
From what his campaign manager is saying, Jeb will go after Rubio again.
Bush, though, has given no indication he plans to let up. Even after his boss’s botched attack on the senator during the last debate, Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz, an operative steeped in the art of oppo research, has privately expressed a desire to continue jabbing. Rubio’s team says he’ll be ready: The senator has been holding debate practice sessions led by longtime adviser Todd Harris.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/republican-debate-milwaukee-fox-business-215662#ixzz3r7wdUvkZ
I think if it means he comes off as too negative that's a risk he has to take. Simply being collegial and talking about how much he loves his former protege won't work.
If Jeb does go there, though, let's hope his team has him ready for the counterpunch. When you throw the first punch you have to be reader for the counterpunch. Rubio is no doubt ready as the above quote shows.
Finally, the Fox Business moderators. What should we expect from them? Despite all the whining about kicking Huckabee and Christie off, it was a move that had to be done. Part of why the last debate was so chaotic is that there were just too many candidates.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-establishment-wails-as-chris.html4
At least there will be time for candidates to actually answer questions without immediately being cutoff and interrupted. As for Chuck Todd's complaint that without Huckabee and Chris Christie the debate won't be as entertaining, that doesn't even pass the laugh test.
What's entertaining is hearing what people who have a real chance at being the party nominee say. A big reason why Very Serious Pundits like Todd say things like this is they're dismayed about who's leading the GOP primary right now. In their mind Trump and Carson shouldn't be there and Christie and Huck should. Thank goodness Todd and friends don't get a say in the matter. The voters do.
Maybe going by polls isn't purely scientific or absolutely fair but it's much more so than drawing straws.
Greg Sargent believes the moderators have been intimidated and will tread lightly. That's not what they are saying on Fox Business News this afternoon, but we will see.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/11/10/tonights-gop-debate-moderators-know-they-must-tread-carefully/
Ultimately if the moderators are weak, it will rebound on the GOP candidates.
1. The battle for the Soul of the GOP Establishment featuring Rubio vs. Jeb.
2. Will be a battle for the Soul of the GOP Outsiders between Trump and Dr. Ben.
3. Ted Cruz is the wildcard. He may well jump in a tag team Rubio with Jeb.
Nearly two weeks after a climactic battle in Boulder, Republican candidates take the stage tonight for a high-stakes clash that will shape the contours of the winter primary season.
Jeb Bush, who limped out of the last debate, is under perhaps the greatest pressure of all. With his poll numbers plummeting to the mid-single digits, the former Florida governor must prove he can handle his rival and one-time friend, Marco Rubio. Ben Carson, who has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks over his personal narrative, will need to fend off an almost-certain offensive from Donald Trump. Chris Christie, a once-towering figure who rose to prominence through his larger-than-life persona, aims to demonstrate he can make a splash in the less-watched and lower-profile undercard debate.
And host Fox Business wants to prove it can put on a better show than competitor CNBC, which fumbled badly with its Republican debate last month.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/republican-debate-milwaukee-fox-business-215662#ixzz3r7tB1e7N
The question is will Trump go after Dr. Ben and if so, how much? He has certainly been attacking him on the stump but last debate he decided to be very gentle with Ben in person.
Dr. Ben promises to 'respond to unfair attacks' tonight. A tough talking Dr. Ben who is not going to be so low energy if attacked.
"Dr. Carson is a man who believes in civility and respect. But at the same time people should not mistake that attitude for weakness. If someone were to attack him and particularly were to do so in an unfair manner, Dr. Carson will respond," Carson deputy communications director Ying Ma said in an interview on MSNBC."
"That comment came in response to questions about recent punches real estate mogul Donald Trump has thrown at Carson as key details about his biography have come under press scrutiny. Trump has bashed his Republican rival for sharing his story about wanting to hit his mother with a hammer as a youth; for his changing narrative about whether he received a full scholarship to West Point; and for Carson's theory that the Great Pyramids of Giza were actually granaries, not tombs."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/ben-carson-gop-debate-215674#ixzz3r7u6cAyv
I must admit on Dr. Ben I've been going back and forth. Yes, on the one hand there is some truth to the idea that Presidential candidates often embellish their biographies. In all honesty Carson is not the first candidate to add a dose of fiction to his biographical account.
Yes, President Obama did use a girlfriend composite in his book and I didn't see what it mattered at the time. But part of Dr. Ben's thing is his embellishments seem to be so numerous and strange.
I feel like this is the first actual Bizzaro campaign-where slander is not saying you have a violent past but saying you don't have one.
Trump has been having fun with this on the stump. Even he's never seen anything like this; he wonders how it is that saying you tried to hit your mother with a hammer seems to raise your poll numbers.
The other big storyline is Jeb and Rubio. Jeb's super PAC is considering going very hard after Rubio.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/politics/bush-allies-threaten-wave-of-harsh-attacks-on-rubio-an-ex-mentee.html?_r=0
Of course, the question that begs is why telegraph a hit like this? Jeb may just have some major leaks there. Are there Rubio people who have penetrated Jeb World?
With this backdrop it will be interesting to see how hard Jeb goes after Rubio tonight considering how much he was criticized for doing it last time. I think he has to do something. The time is past where he can just sit back and wait for this to come to him.
From what his campaign manager is saying, Jeb will go after Rubio again.
Bush, though, has given no indication he plans to let up. Even after his boss’s botched attack on the senator during the last debate, Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz, an operative steeped in the art of oppo research, has privately expressed a desire to continue jabbing. Rubio’s team says he’ll be ready: The senator has been holding debate practice sessions led by longtime adviser Todd Harris.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/republican-debate-milwaukee-fox-business-215662#ixzz3r7wdUvkZ
I think if it means he comes off as too negative that's a risk he has to take. Simply being collegial and talking about how much he loves his former protege won't work.
If Jeb does go there, though, let's hope his team has him ready for the counterpunch. When you throw the first punch you have to be reader for the counterpunch. Rubio is no doubt ready as the above quote shows.
Finally, the Fox Business moderators. What should we expect from them? Despite all the whining about kicking Huckabee and Christie off, it was a move that had to be done. Part of why the last debate was so chaotic is that there were just too many candidates.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-establishment-wails-as-chris.html4
At least there will be time for candidates to actually answer questions without immediately being cutoff and interrupted. As for Chuck Todd's complaint that without Huckabee and Chris Christie the debate won't be as entertaining, that doesn't even pass the laugh test.
What's entertaining is hearing what people who have a real chance at being the party nominee say. A big reason why Very Serious Pundits like Todd say things like this is they're dismayed about who's leading the GOP primary right now. In their mind Trump and Carson shouldn't be there and Christie and Huck should. Thank goodness Todd and friends don't get a say in the matter. The voters do.
Maybe going by polls isn't purely scientific or absolutely fair but it's much more so than drawing straws.
Greg Sargent believes the moderators have been intimidated and will tread lightly. That's not what they are saying on Fox Business News this afternoon, but we will see.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/11/10/tonights-gop-debate-moderators-know-they-must-tread-carefully/
Ultimately if the moderators are weak, it will rebound on the GOP candidates.
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