That was also the case for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, though he jokingly compared the bloated federal government to a runaway blimp making news Wednesday and later pointed out that he was wearing a Trump tie.
Cruz Pushes In
Cruz was a champion college debater and those skills were on display Wednesday. He deftly recapped the moderators’ quizzing of his opponents, describing those interactions as antagonistic.
“These questions illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. This is not a cage match,” he said. The rebuke drew some of the loudest, most sustained applause of the evening. Cruz said the Republican debate is a stark contrast with the Democratic contest, “where every fawning question” was about “which one of you is more handsome and wise?”
Christie, Trump, Rubio and others joined in the media bashing. So, too, did Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus, who told reporters the moment the debate ended that he was disappointed in both the debate’s moderators and CNBC.
Cruz, a freshman Texas senator who has made his name by defying his fellow senators, also had one of the most memorable quips of the night. Asked by moderators to describe his worst characteristic, as he would in a job interview, he said with a smile: “I’m too agreeable, easy-going.”
Carson Quizzed
During the August debate, Carson meekly said at one point, “I wasn’t sure I was going to get to talk again.” This time, as the leader in some recent preference polls, the moderators showed that people are taking a closer look at his background and his policy proposals.
Carson said he'd like to have an across-the-board tax rate of 15 percent and get rid of all income tax deductions and loopholes if he were president.
He also was questioned about his involvement with a medical supplement company called Mannatech that has come under legal scrutiny. Although he appears in promotions for the company, he called it “absurd” to say he has a relationship with them. When a moderator pushed him about whether perhaps that showed he is weak on his “vetting process,” the crowd began to boo.
Carson smiled — spotting his chance to pile-on the media as other candidates had done. “They know,” he said of the audience.
Sick of it All
Asked about his biggest weakness with the first question of the debate, Kasich dismissed it and began a tirade about the seriousness — or lack thereof — in the Republican campaign. “We are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job,” he said ominously, noting — without using their names — Carson’s proposal to end Medicaid and Trump’s talk about deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally.
A few moments later, as Carson discussed his flat-tax proposal, Kasich piped back up: “This is the fantasy that I talked about in the beginning,” adding, “It’s not responsible.”
“We cannot elect someone who doesn’t know how to do the job,” he said.
Trump had a quick analysis of why Kasich’s tone had turned so negative: “His poll numbers tanked, and that’s why he’s on the end. And then he got nasty.”
