I separated the good from the bad below.
Winners
* Marco Rubio:
The senator from Florida was good in the first two debates. He was
outstanding in this one. The long-awaited showdown between Rubio and
Bush wound up being a romp; Jeb tried to attack on Rubio's Senate
attendance but got schooled by a very well-prepared Rubio.
Rubio repeatedly took tough questions and turned them to his advantage,
finding ways to tell his compelling personal story and steer the
conversation toward what the GOP needs to do to beat Hillary Clinton.
Rubio, as I've long noted, is the most naturally talented candidate in
either party's field; he showed it tonight.* Ted Cruz: Cruz had the single most memorable moment of the debate when, early on, he took on the CNBC moderators for the alleged "gotcha" questions they were asking. It drew a huge response in the debate hall and outside of it — and set the stage for a litany of attacks against the media from Cruz's rivals as the night wore on. Cruz, as he did in the first two debates, used his time wisely — driving home the message that he's the only guy with the backbone to stand up not just to Democrats but to leaders in his own party. Had Rubio not been so good, Cruz would be the story of the night.
* Chris Christie: For the second straight debate, Christie found ways to do more with less (time). His "Why the hell are we talking about fantasy sports" riff was outstanding and reinforced the idea of the New Jersey governor as a plain-spoken truth-teller. The question for Christie is whether it will make any difference; he continues to struggle to make up ground on the front-runners and is barely clinging to his spot on the debate stage.
* Donald Trump: This was a most un-Trump performance. With the exception of a smack-down of John Kasich in the early going, Trump was largely content to stay out of the fray and stick to his talking points when he did get a question. And, somewhat amazingly to me, he skated by without any real attacks by any of his rivals for the nomination. Yes, Trump has lost some momentum of late but didn't anyone notice he is still in first or second place in every single state and national poll? Hard to see him slipping from that perch as a result of tonight's proceedings.
* Lindsey Graham: For the second straight undercard debate, the senator from South Carolina was in a class of his own. He was funny and knowledgeable. But, it was in the undercard debate.
Losers
* Ben Carson: The doctor's first three answers of the night were close to nonsensical. He repeatedly seemed surprised when called on and struggled to articulate his points or use facts to help bolster them. He seemed out of his depth. Now, Carson's appeal — and what has made him the race's front-runner of late — is that he sounds and acts nothing like a polished politician. So, I suppose, by that logic, Carson might have had a less-bad night than I think.
During
the third GOP debate, candidates got feisty with the CNBC moderators.
They took aim at the questions asked, at the "mainstream media" and at
the moderators interrupting their answers. (Victoria M. Walker/The
Washington Post)
Winners and losers from the third Republican presidential debate
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