Nick Siano is a sophomore telecommunications and journalism major and writes "Nick and Tired" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Nick at ncsiano@bsu.edu.
Allow me to begin by extending my thanks to Mr. Trump for making my first debate review much harder to write than I thought. It would have been easy to make this the “Top 5 Face-Palming Trump Moments” but, let’s face it, that’s a little too easy to write and admittedly degrading to the civic system. A debate should be policy-focused, not a mudslinging contest. Yet somehow, Trump has still managed to remain an integral part of this debate.
Here are the top five takeaways:
1. Cruz feels the heat
Standing at the coveted center lectern comes at a price, and Ted Cruz quickly learned that. He was constantly under fire, both from the moderators and from the other candidates. Marco Rubio argued with Cruz in regard to foreign policy after he was grilled on his call to carpet bomb ISIS into oblivion. Cruz stuck to policy as much as he could, though his answers often lacked substance. When faced with difficult questions, he replied with safe, poll-tested answers.
2. Rand Paul keeps the liberty vote in the Paul household
Rand Paul plans to maintain the Paul family tradition of securing the libertarian vote. He was by far the most libertarian candidate on the stage, and the college crowd of Des Moines noticed. The idea of small government and maximum autonomy is extremely appealing to young voters, especially those who may be exercising their civic duty for the first time in upcoming months.
3. Christie appears unprepared and off guard
Chris Christie almost looked surprised every time a moderator directed a question at him. The shock continued when he was allowed a 30-second rebuttal after a reference to him by another candidate. He stuck to his “outsider to Washington” attitude, which drew little response from the crowd or social media. He constantly tried to bring his responses back to his contempt for Hillary Clinton and Planned Parenthood. Christie was just white noise on a stage full of candidates who share those views.
4. Cruz and Rubio exchange verbal fisticuffs
Any thought of these two sharing a ticket come November is a faraway dream after this debate. The two attacked each other in regard to immigration, and Rubio accused Cruz of being willing to “say or do anything in order to get votes.” Cruz fired back by saying Rubio sided with donors in the immigration debate. If Rubio did in fact switch his vote because of donors, the candidates might begin to sense there’s a problem with the campaign finance system and that maybe it does need to be reformed.
5. The silent flip-flop
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I’m not surprised that, though he didn’t take part in this debate, Trump was all the major news networks could talk about leading up to it. Nor am I surprised he was constantly brought up throughout the night. It was a gutsy move to drop the debate because it’s “a bad deal” and Megyn Kelly “is a third-rate reporter.” Yet it was Trump who praised Kelly’s moderating skills during a 2011 interview and scolded the handful of GOP candidates who backed out of the debate he was slated to moderate. But of course, now that Trump is the one backing out, everyone else is just a “loser.”
This was a much quieter debate than previous ones. So quiet, in fact, it may have put Ben Carson to sleep. In two hours of debate, he only had six minutes and 11 seconds of responses, less than anyone else by more than a minute and a half. The popularity he gained earlier in the election cycle seems to have withered away.
I think this debate may have helped young voters better understand the candidates who aren’t Donald Trump — especially Cruz, Rubio and Paul, who stood out the most to me. But I was glad to see the GOP finally have a more policy-focused discussion, and look forward to more debates following the Iowa caucus.
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