NYT....Uneven Performances in Trump-less Republican Forum

[mystery-ak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/us/politics/confrontation-is-avoided-in-forum-for-republican-presidential-candidates.html?ref=politics&_r=1

Uneven Performances in Trump-less Republican Forum

By JEREMY W. PETERS and MICHAEL BARBAROAUG. 3, 2015



Jeb Bush stumbled through a familiar question about his brother and father, struggling for the right words as he cracked a joke about duking it out with anyone who questioned the legacy of his aging dad.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey awkwardly said aloud what many have been wondering about his candidacy: “Am I washed up?”

And Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina reached back to the 1990s to attack Hillary Rodham Clinton’s credibility by dredging up her husband’s dishonesty about a sexual affair.

Mischievously promising to translate “Clinton-speak” for the audience, Mr. Graham explained, “When Bill says, ‘I didn’t have sex with that woman,’ he did.”

After weeks of preparing for a smash-mouth debate with Donald J. Trump, 14 Republican candidates found themselves instead Trump-less but sandwiched into a constricting format on Monday night, delivering strikingly uneven performances just days before the first big test of the presidential primary contest.

continued

[EdinVA]

Not real sure what cspan was out to accomplish anyway.
No real time to discuss a question... weak format IMHO..

[DCPatriot]

Not real sure what cspan was out to accomplish anyway.
No real time to discuss a question... weak format IMHO..

They should have been made to pick numbers from a hat.   Separate everybody into two heats.

Even 7 to a heat is too big, but it's better than this format.   

[alicewonders]

Not real sure what cspan was out to accomplish anyway.
No real time to discuss a question... weak format IMHO..

I find most debates to be that way.  A candidate's best hope is to be able to throw out "the sound bite" that everyone will be talking about the next day.  Of course, that depends on what questions you will be asked - most debates are not really "debates" - and the moderators have almost complete power in making or breaking you.

[DCPatriot]

I find most debates to be that way.  A candidate's best hope is to be able to throw out "the sound bite" that everyone will be talking about the next day.  Of course, that depends on what questions you will be asked - most debates are not really "debates" - and the moderators have almost complete power in making or breaking you.

And that's why, as Rush Limbaugh predicted, Donald Trump will have none of that.

Come Friday morning, it's going to be a hoot for the day's news cycle. 

[alicewonders]

And that's why, as Rush Limbaugh predicted, Donald Trump will have none of that.

Come Friday morning, it's going to be a hoot for the day's news cycle.

Very true!   

[bkepley]

And that's why, as Rush Limbaugh predicted, Donald Trump will have none of that.

Come Friday morning, it's going to be a hoot for the day's news cycle.

Trump has an unfair advantage when it comes to that.  He can say something stupid or simply refuse to answer a question and bluster his way out of it and no one will hold him to account as they would with any of the other candidates.  Has there ever been a candidate like him?

[aligncare]

Trump has an unfair advantage when it comes to that.  He can say something stupid or simply refuse to answer a question and bluster his way out of it and no one will hold him to account as they would with any of the other candidates.  Has there ever been a candidate like him?

Yeah. Barack Obama.

[bkepley]

Yeah. Barack Obama.

Probably should have said "Republican candidate".

[DCPatriot]

Trump has an unfair advantage when it comes to that.  He can say something stupid or simply refuse to answer a question and bluster his way out of it and no one will hold him to account as they would with any of the other candidates.  Has there ever been a candidate like him?

He's already stated publicly that he's never been in any kind of a debate format.  He's tells people what to do and they do it or they're gone.

He may, single handedly, blow up the alphabet networks' presidential debate circle-jerk.  For example, imagine how Donald Trump would have responded to George Stephanopoulos' question to Mitt Romney on the topic of contraception availability.

OTOH....FOXNEWS is going to be much more 'friendly' to Republicans than anybody else so perhaps my may not unload on Meghan Kelly.

[aligncare]

Probably should have said "Republican candidate".

Republican candidates pride themselves in playing by the rules.   what the F has that gotten us?

In terms of politics, Obama won the last 7 years.

I'm ready for a Republican Obama (if you catch my drift).

[bkepley]

Republican candidates pride themselves in playing by the rules.   what the F has that gotten us?

In terms of politics, Obama won the last 7 years.

I'm ready for a Republican Obama (if you catch my drift).

Most of the Republicans know that one single slip can end their chances.  It won't be that way for Trump due to low expectations.  In fact imagine Trump actually looking presidential..his numbers would boom, maybe double.

[EdinVA]

Trump has an unfair advantage when it comes to that. 

IOW, the most politically adept and most qualified.

[bkepley]

IOW, the most politically adept and most qualified.

[libertybele]

Trump has an unfair advantage when it comes to that.  He can say something stupid or simply refuse to answer a question and bluster his way out of it and no one will hold him to account as they would with any of the other candidates.  Has there ever been a candidate like him?

How Trump reacts remains to be seen.  IF he "overrides" the moderators questions, it may be a chance for some of the others to shine; not by answering the "sorted" question, but by being equally as bold towards the moderators and speaking of what the real issue should be at hand. 

It's going to be interesting to see how the moderators handle Trump.  If they hold his feet to the fire, it could either backfire on them or sink Trump as people will see him as a hot head.

[aligncare]

How Trump reacts remains to be seen.  IF he "overrides" the moderators questions, it may be a chance for some of the others to shine; not by answering the "sorted" question, but by being equally as bold towards the moderators and speaking of what the real issue should be at hand. 

It's going to be interesting to see how the moderators handle Trump.  If they hold his feet to the fire, it could either backfire on them or sink Trump as people will see him as a hot head.

Just one observation. Trump is not a hot head. Success requires control of one's emotions. After all, Trump wrote the book on the art of the deal. The debate will be nothing more than Trump negotiating a deal with the Right.