I watched the whole thing and was fascinated by it all.
Thought almost everyone on stage had their moments (both high and low). My opinion:
Trump - Nothing new. The CNN moderators were clearly trying to make this whole debate into them attacking each other. Every questions was "this candidate said this about you, how do you respond?". And since Trump has spoken the most about all the other candidates, he was involved in this tactic the most. For the most part he held his own but he still has significant holes in his game plan. I continue to think he will fail with women voters in the long run and that will be the end of him. His low point was the vaccine/autism point. He looked like an idiot (even more than normal).
Carson - Very likable as always, but I was shocked he didn't take a stronger stand on the vaccine/autism point. There was his moment to show some presidential backbone on a subject he knows better than everyone up there and he had a chance to BURY his chief competition in Trump and he failed miserably. He was just so soft on that topic like he was tippy-toeing and figuring out what the best answer was. I was extremely disappointed in him at that moment and have serious questions about his ability to make tough choices in a crisis.
Bush - He's just such a dork and a typical politician. He can't say anything off the cuff. Everything looks rehearsed with him. If he didn't have the biggest war chest, he's probably insignificant in this race, but you can't discount all that money and backing. In many ways, if he ends up being the nominee, that's a sad indictment on just how much power/influence money means in this process.
Rubio - He's still a dark horse. Would do very well with minorities but since so few are registered Republican it isn't helping him much in the primaries. Some of the stuff he talks about hits home with voters. Low point was when he was called out on his attendance record in congress. That hurt him a lot. Looks like the little brother of the group. No one really wants to take him on.
Kasich - I'm actually starting to think Kasich would make the best President. He's not going to make everyone happy, but the guy clearly has a realistic view on what is and isn't doable as a president. While all the others are grandiose in the changes they will make, Kasich (correctly) acknowledges that none of this stuff is going to happen (both domestically and internationally) without compromise, allies and time. He's the complete opposite of Ted Cruz. I also think Kasich could beat Hillary. He'd have Ohio rapped up and I think he would be very appealing to Florida voters. Something like Kasich/Rubio would be unbeatable in my opinion.
Cruz - The guy's a nutbag. He's so off the farm right-leaning that he scares me the most of everyone on stage (including Trump). His extremism will do well during the primary season, but he's just way too out there for a general election. I know some here love his gun-toting, religious touting, constitutionalism, but I just think that political position is gone and will never win on a national level.
Fiorina - She's clearly an exceptional speaker. Maybe the best in the room. And this is the first I've heard her talk for an extended time frame. But there are some skeleton's in her past I might need to look into. Her track record at HP has some chinks. Her record of laying off thousands of workers while giving/approving herself huge bonuses hits home for much of America in a negative way. She interrupted a lot of people last night and she's probably a bulldog in real life to get where she has. I don't think she's a serious candidate for POTUS, but she could be a viable VP candidate.
Paul - The truth is Paul isn't a republican. He's a federalist. And on many issues you see the differences sort of emerge as to how he'd like to govern. I thought he had some great points and sounded super intelligent at times, but he beat the medicinal marijuana "Mom and kid" thing to death against Christie and I thought he looked a bit petty on that issue. That's partly Paul's problem. When he really tries to drive a point home or gets a bit angry, he looses his appeal in a hurry. He just looks like a whiny kid not getting his way.
Christie - As a northeastern, registered Republican, Christie kind of appeals to me. He's no nonsense. He's non-secular. His platform isn't all pro-gun, pro-life. But I am so tired of every one of his answers starting with "When I was governor or New Jersey...." He comes across and loud and obnoxious at times and it's not working so far in the polls and he's giving himself way to much credit for things happening in Jersey. Jersey's not a picnic state to live in and there's still plenty of ******** that live there. I would be very careful how proud he is of that state's record to republican voters.
Huckabee - He's basically just a platform of religion at this point. He blew it being at the joke of a rally for Kim Davis. He'll get his 5% of the super religious wackos out there, but that's it. He should be the next to withdraw in my opinion. Looks old and out of touch. More minister than president.
Walker - Walker's done too. Should withdraw sooner rather than later and quit wasting our time. I'm tired of hearing how "threatened" he was when he went against those evil unions. He makes it sound like he was serving in Iraq. He comes across as condescending. And his platform lacks focus. He's trying to be all things to everyone (everyone meaning republicans).
I think we'll see Huckabee/Walker out soon.
Carson will eventually drop out. So will Fiorina. So will Christie. I really think it's a 4-man race: Trump/Bush/Kasich/Rubio. I think Cruz and Rand might be in it very deep because they will become "unique" and have some core followers.
After last night's debate, I'm leaning Kasich.
