Not surprising, on the three major issues I would have liked answers to, none were forthcoming.
Here is how I saw the debate:
(1) Trump—As advertised, off the rails, but will have some appeal. Hard to think he helped himself.
(2) Bush—A real yawner. No way he helped himself.
(3) Walker—How did he even make the top ten? Walker hurt himself.
(4) Carson—Politics is new to Ben. May have dropped out of the top ten.
(5) Huckabee—Hard to think he plays beyond his Christian base.
(6) Cruz—Did himself no harm, but never got into “Cruz Mode.”
(7) Rubio—The clear winner. Sharp and on message.
(8) Paul—My favorite on the issues, but he has hurt himself in the foreign policy arena and did not help himself last night. Disappointing.
(9) Christie—Can swing for the fences and is going to be a factor. Did himself some good last night.
(10) Kasich—I have not been a Kasich fan on the issues, but I want to like John. He helped himself last night and will stay in the top ten, probably to include Fiorina.
Who drops out of the top ten? Ben Carson is probably the odd man out, which will be sad. Carson’s story is admirable.
