No, I did not watch the GOP presidential debate on Wednesday evening because I'm not a masochist. And it would appear my instincts are sound given how some of my favorite conservative writers like Erick Erickson, Ed Morrissey and Jim Geraghty declared the festivities a complete dud.
While it's highly likely Donald Trump will emerge as the Republican candidate in 2024, there should still be a concerted effort to put forth a nominee who matches up better against President Joe Biden (right now Trump polls worse head-to-head vs. Biden than do Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis).
Karol Markowicz at the New York Post says the winnowing of the field down to those two non-Trump hopefuls needs to happen posthaste.
People are still moving to Florida to experience Gov. DeSantis’s leadership. It wasn’t a Covid fluke.
My new neighbors from Connecticut sport their DeSantis merch and can’t wait to vote for him for president.
What he has done in Florida is revolutionary and has been a model for other states.
But revolutions are scary and it’s not crazy that some Republican voters want to go back to a Republican model they understand.
Nikki Haley represents that model.
There was a few moments tonight where the candidates got to really challenge each other, but the ideas really didn’t come through.
When Tim Scott is attacking Nikki Haley for expensive drapes, voters at home have no idea what’s going on.
And when Christie looks into the camera and talks to Donald Trump, it doesn’t advance the conversation about what he stands for.
Yes, he hates Trump now but where has he been for the last six years?
There’s a future to consider and the crowded stage means that the frontrunners angle for time with also-rans.
Polls aren’t everything, but they are already used to whittle down who gets into the conversation.
Lines always get drawn to consider who gets to be in the debate.
The next debate should feature some sharper ones.
Voters might enjoy a sideshow, but they deserve a debate of real ideas.
Let the top two candidates get a real chance to present those ideas to voters.
There can only be one. But let’s start with two.
And there's only one candidate who is decisively and substantively going after Trump.
👀 pic.twitter.com/Wiun4jAvvi
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) September 28, 2023
In a normal political cycle, this rhetorical smackdown would've resulted in a noticeable wound on the frontrunner. Unfortunately any semblance of "normal" dissipated back in about July 2015.
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