NICK AND TIRED: Winners and losers from Thursday's GOP debate

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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.

The four remaining contenders for the GOP nomination met in Detroit Thursday night for the 11th Republican debate. I’ve picked what I thought were the winners and losers of the night.

Winners:

Ted Cruz: Talk about being in the right place at the right time. During the first part of the debate, Rubio and Trump argued constantly, defending the statements they’ve made against the other in the past week.

Between them stood Ted Cruz, reaping the benefits of being a silent watcher against all of the raucous unruliness. It reflected well on him to stay silent and let the two attack each other. He was later able to criticize Trump about the contributions he made to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008.

Nick Siano

On a more policy-related note, he attacked Trump on the matter of an off-the-record interview with the New York Times about immigration that Trump refuses to release the audio to. Cruz and Rubio agree that releasing those tapes will show a different point of view Trump holds on immigration; one that differs completely from his solution of building a wall.

John Kasich: The Ohio governor seemed to be having a separate debate with the moderators, often being asked different questions than the other candidates. But everyone’s friendly neighbor helped the dialogue flow from negativity and attacks. He proved himself to be more familiar with policymaking and political negotiations.

In a race that has recently been dominated by the question of establishment politics and having an outsider in the White House, Kasich gave insight to why having not only someone invested in politics but someone used to an executive position would be a good choice for the White House. He’s banking a lot of support on his moderate stance, saying “I can get the crossover votes.” The governor remained steadfast in light of his sub-par Super Tuesday performance, as he looks toward gaining more delegates in the Northern states.

Losers:

Donald Trump: Trump was put on defense for much of this debate, whether from other candidates or from the moderators. Specifically, he was grilled by Megyn Kelly on the topic of Trump University, which is being sued by former students as a scam. Trump claimed that its students viewed it favorably and it held a positive rating from the Better Business Bureau, but in actuality, that rating shifted from an ‘A’ to a ‘D-,’ and currently holds no rating.

He and Rubio fought constantly, ranging from Trump’s stance on immigration to more personal topics, where Trump began calling Rubio and Cruz names. Because when all else fails, referring to the other candidates as “Lying Ted” and “Little Marco” will certainly win the audience over. I say that with as much sarcasm I can muster, but sadly, I’m sure it bolstered support among his followers.

Marco Rubio: This is what a verbal kamikaze mission looks like. Gone is Rubio’s “new American century” outlook. I find it difficult to categorize him as the third-place man, too. He’s just Trump’s foil. There needs to be a greater balance to Rubio’s speeches, which still seemed dangerously canned. If he can become a candidate that furthers his own agenda while still being able to stand against Trump, he could be taken a bit more seriously again.

Until then, he’s just proving that Trump can and will get under your skin if you try to beat him at his own game. Rubio has been trying to bring Trump down for many weeks now, even exposing Trump’s own reliance on canned speeches in the Feb. 25 debate. But he has yet to bring the positivity that his campaign promised earlier in the election cycle.

The audience: I mean, come on. At best they were annoying, and at worst they were distracting. I could make out one man’s constant obscenities better than I could make out Trump’s statements when the audience would cheer. This debate really made me question the need for a live audience.

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