It was a long debate. “The Sound of Music” with Julie Andrews lasted three hours. The CNN debate in Simi Valley, California, lasted longer. It became an endurance contest between many politicians accustomed to East Coast time. By the time they finished, it was already after 11 p.m
Along the way, we learned that Carly Fiorina is ready for a prime time show. In Ohio, Fiorina sat at the children’s table during the debate. CNN actually changed its polling requirements slightly to accommodate Fiorina’s rise in popularity after the first debate. It’s a credit to the network that they did this.
Last Wednesday at the Reagan Library, Fiorina became the first candidate in the campaign to prompt Donald Trump to withdraw. Trump, who had just refused to give Jeb Bush a pass for making erroneous statements about women’s health, was confronted with his remark about Fiorina’s face. Trump said two weeks ago: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for this? Can you imagine this face of our next president?”
Fiorina’s priceless response to CNN’s Jake Tapper was: “You know, this is interesting to me. Mr. Trump said he heard Mr. Bush and what he said very clearly. “I think women across the country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.” The crowd went crazy.
Of course, because of this, Trump gave a rather flat performance. Playing for the crowd. In Ohio, the crowd was deafening and immense. This worked out well for Ohio Governor John Kasich because of the home field advantage. It was good for Trump too. It’s different in California. Instead, Fiorina shined. She gave forceful answers about Planned Parenthood and national security. She connected with the audience by sharing the news of her child’s death due to drug addiction. She was unfazed.
Fiorina will likely start to steal support from most of the other candidates. Scott Walker, who was on a downward trajectory, appears to have plateaued in the debate, although he had the least amount of time to comment on all the candidates. But Fiorina could start to benefit from Walker’s support. He will also likely utilize Ben Carson’s support. Carson didn’t perform poorly, but he performed without much energy. Fiorina will rise and Carson will drift down.
If Fiorina advances, so will Marco Rubio. Fiorina may have won the debate, but Rubio and others won over Bush donors. Once again he showed himself as a fresh face with fresh ideas, as well as a storyteller. People shouldn’t underestimate storytelling.
Governors spoke on stage about their records. They talked about 2.5 million this, 100,000 that, so many cuts and so much saved. Rubio talked about his immigrant grandfather fleeing a communist insurgency in Cuba. His grandfather didn’t speak English, but he told Rubio to commit to America.
Instead of talking about global warming data, Rubio talked about the economic impact on the penniless and middle class. On the issue of ISIS, he did not specify the number of troops, but mentioned safe and sound havens. Republicans often lament the lack of storytellers in their ranks. Here is a storyteller who connects with people through these stories.
Of course, there was another debate. CNN, like Fox News, organized a debate for children. In it, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal vigorously defended conservatism against the Republican Party. It was nice to hear the candidate put principles above partisanship.
Jindal emphasized that President Obama has kept all his promises. He stated that the president did exactly what he planned. But it was the Republicans who broke all their promises. They promised to stop the president, but they continue to fund him.
Fiorina moved from the children’s table to the stage of the main debate. It’s time to include Jindal in the mainstream debate as well. He is willing to follow principles, even if it means criticizing himself. This is refreshing in an age of hyper-partisanship.
