I'm not a fan of the Media, but the reason Cruz did so badly is because more Conservatives found him to be dishonest then you did.
No. The reason Cruz did so badly, is because Trump did everything he could and then some, to falsely slander, smear and attack Cruz' character.
The reason Cruz did so badly, is because he isn't a reality TV star who is big on saying asinine obnoxious things and pandering for the most attention.
The reason Cruz did so badly, is because he didn't get 24/7 media coverage and hype, the ENTIRE TIME he was campaigning.
The reason Cruz did so badly, is because our society has become an immoral, valueless, unprincipled society, who cares more about "getting even", "getting revenge" and "making someone pay", than they are about actually fixing things.
The reason Cruz did so badly, is because he expressed a sane, rational, logical and common sense approach to SHRINKING government, reigning in the out of control elites, and putting the people back in charge. But because our society is so dumbed down, they can't grasp logic or reason any more.
When you have a candidate, that is given 24/7 media coverage, that feeds into EMOTIONS and curiosity of the under educated and low informed populace, luring them in on reality tv type antics and obnoxious behaviors, who isn't fact checked, isn't vetted, isn't questioned, and is allowed to say whatever he wants and given a free pass with everything, it is very difficult to over come that. The stupid believe everything he says...every lie he tells, every smear he tosses out there.
I'd wager, if Trump were not in the picture, at all, Cruz would be the nominee, hands down. Trump is the symptom of a larger problem......our government isn't just broken, our society is.