The Main Event
By Growltiger*
In their effort to ensure Hillary Clinton is the Democrats' nominee, the Democrats hold an occasional debate on a friendly news network on a Saturday night while a football game is in progress. Look for the next one during the Super Bowl.
Republicans on the other hand seem to hold a debate hosted by news networks who either favor the Democrats (CNN and CNBC so far) or are dedicated to promoting the Republican establishment's candidate (Fox News or Fox Business) every other week on a week night when nothing's on TV but soap operas, soccer and wrestling. The Democrats won't go on Fox, but in this election, there's no way to tell Fox from CNN anyway since Fox is apparently dedicated to taking down the two front runners in order to get back to the business-as-usual presidential contest where it really doesn't matter to the donor class, Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street and/or the Kingmakers who is elected since they win either way. This has never been obvious in the past, but their desperation to defeat Mr. Trump and Senator Cruz has caused them to be sloppy.
Because the Republican field is composed of one-third of all Republicans (and possibly a few politicians who in another era would be considered Democrats), there are too many to fit on one stage, so there are two debates: The "undercard" (or kiddie table debate) and the "main event". This week, the "undercard" featured only Governor Huckabee, Ms. Fiorina and Senator Santorum. Senator Rand Paul had been reassigned to the kiddie table, but refused to show up.
On the surface, it looked like Paul behaved like someone who not only belonged at the kiddie table, but who should have been sent to bed without dessert. However, anyone who has been watching the polls has to wonder why Governor Bush and Governor Kasich also weren't assigned to the kiddie table. Their poll numbers are around the same as Senator Paul's. (1)
While Fox Business excuses its treatment of Senator Paul by saying it used an average of polls on a pre-announced cut-off date, if anyone believes the data weren't fudged to keep former Governor Bush and Governor Kasich on the main stage, then Growltiger has a bridge to sell him or her.
No one expects the nominee to come out of the kiddie table, but one must admire the class of Ms. Fiorina, Senator Santorum and Governor Huckabee, who not only showed up, but answered the moderators' questions with substantive answers. The moderators at the undercard didn't have a bone to pick with any candidate, so didn't have to show any claws. They conducted themselves well, as did the audience.
The main event is a different matter. This time Cavuto and Bartilomo were on a mission and more resembled the moderators at the CNBC debate in October than the Fox Business professional debate in November.
Back in November, Fox Business learned from the CNBC disaster where the moderators made fools of themselves without laying a glove on the candidates so delivered a polished, professional performance which earned them accolades from every side.
Not this time.
Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartilomo lobbed a mud pie at Donald Trump the first chance they got, bringing up without attribution his questioning of whether Senator Ted Cruz is eligible to be president. For the record, Donald Trump did not bring up this question; he answered honestly when the question was posed by a Washington Post reporter. (Does anyone believe a Washington Post reporter was trying to do anything but stir up dissension between the two candidates?)
Here's the cool cat's analysis:
Trump spoke eloquently when he replied to Senator Cruz's accusing him of having "New York values." Mr. Trump also showed class and restraint in addressing Governor Nikki Haley's classless and slimy attack on him during what was supposed to be a Republican rebuttal to the President's State of the Union Address, but was used by the Establishment as an effort to take down Mr. Trump as front runner and silence the Americans opposed to open borders, amnesty, unfair trade deals and the V-A treatment of American veterans. Governor Haley's rebuttal did little harm to Mr. Trump, but drove home the fact the Republican Establishment expects the Republican base to deliver votes for the candidate chosen by the Establishment, otherwise sit down and shut up.
The dust-up the moderators instigated between Mr. Trump and Senator Cruz did little harm to either of them, although the cool cat wonders why Senator Cruz's records are sealed. Senator Cruz was not harmed by it coming out that he had scored a million dollar loan from Goldman-Sachs (which is in New York and so maybe that's what he meant by "New York values"). Senator Rubio and Senator Cruz got into their own dust-up in which neither of them scored a real blow, although Senator Cruz came off as a little older, wiser and smarter. (They're the same age). Governor Christie put them both in their place with a well timed barb. Governor Christie always debates well, but it is questionable whether his performance will elevate him above Senator Rubio.
Governors Bush and Kasich surpassed expectations to the point that their answers seemed rehearsed making one wonder whether they were given the questions beforehand and so had canned speeches prepared. Unfortunately, Dr. Ben Carson did not do well. This genuinely good, gentle, intelligent, honest human being does not belong in the field of politics any more than any of the others should be doing brain surgery (although Mr. Bush does seem to have interjected himself in the Terry Schiavo case when his brother was president).
All in all, in spite of a boorish audience and moderators who apparently wanted to initiate a fist fight between Mr. Trump and Senator Cruz while at the same time elevating Governors Bush and Kasich, the candidates answered the questions with grace and knowledge and Cruz and Trump generally avoided the traps the moderators had set for them.
(1) The latest NBC/WSJ national poll shows the following:
Trump 33%,
Cruz 20%,
Rubio 13%,
Carson 12%
Bush and Christie 5%,
Kasich, Paul and Fiorina 3%.
