August 6th Fox News Top Ten Republican Debate

Impressive–Rubio, Bush 
Solid–Walker, Christie, Kasich 
Didn’t help/hurt themselves – Carson, Cruz, Huckabee 
Weak--Paul 
Horrible--Trump
~~Stuart Rothenberg

-I had a great time live tweeting during the debate last night.  It has been 11 years since I've been excited to watch a Republican debate.  There were a lot of great quotes and comments from the candidates and other people tweeting about it.

-I have to admit there are 2 things that "I didn't get" last night.  All this conservative anger that cheers on Trump and trashes Fox News and the Fox News' anchors/moderators.  I find myself at odds with people I used to admire.  As many of my readers know, I used to love Ann Coulter and I've read most of her books.  But she has gone off the rails the past couple of years and her celebration of Trump and trashing other great candidates just doesn't make sense to me.

-I love Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier and 24 million people watched the debate last night.  I thought Trump's comments to Kelly were disrespectful and offensive.

-I was excited that my guy, Marco Rubio shined last night.  Many others agreed with me.  I literally cheered when Rubio said the above quote about God blessing the Republican party.  He came across as optimistic and confident.

Rubio en fuego

— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) August 7, 2015

-After I saw the above tweet from Dana Perino, I looked up what en fuego means.  Below is the exact description:

Translated from Spanish, literally means, 'on fire'. It's what you call anyone or anything that is awesome. 

-I couldn't think of a better way to describe Marco Rubio.  Below are some more articles praising Rubio's performance:

~~Rubio Wins
~~Mainstream Media surprised by Republican Debate as Rubio, Cruz and Fiorina score
~~Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina win the Republican debate

-Besides Rubio's stellar performance, I liked Scott Walker and John Kasich last night.  Kasich is getting some traction.  I was a little surprised Walker didn't do better, but like Rothenberg said, he gave a solid performance.  My favorite line was the one about mush.

-Bush did okay, surprised he didn't perform better.

-Carson was funny at the end but seemed lost the rest of the debate.

-Huckabee and Cruz reinforced me cringing every time they talk, can't stand either of them.

-Rand Paul surprised me with some good lines, especially when he called out Christie hugging Obama.  But if I wanted a candidate weak on defense, I'd vote Democrat.

Saying a woman would look better on her knees isn't being bold and "politically incorrect"--it's crass and derogatory. #Trump #GOPDebate

— Hallie Milner (@HallieKMilner) August 7, 2015

-Trump really made me mad when he attacked Megyn and his response about his women comments wasn't impressive.

-I don't get the support for Trump at all.  He's not a genuine conservative and just seems to be garnering all the angry/hater type people's support.

August 6th Fox News Happy Hour Republican Debate!

Since [Donald Trump] has changed his mind on amnesty, on health care and on abortion, I would just ask, what are the principles by which he will govern?--Carly Fiorina

-The 1st Debate last night, which was dubbed the "Happy Hour Debate" was fairly uneventful except that Carly Fiorina rose to the top of the 7 candidates that didn't make the cut for the "real debate" later that night.

-I have always liked Fiorina but know that she doesn't have much of a shot at the nomination for numerous reasons.  That said, she did a great job last night and was the only candidate of the 7 that did anything for me.

-CNN listed her 5 best lines:

1. "Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi, she lied about emails, she is still defending Planned Parenthood, and she is still her party's frontrunner."

2. "[T]he potential of this nation and too many Americans is being crushed by the weight, the power, the cost, the complexity, the ineptitude, the corruption of the federal government."

3. "I know more world leaders on the stage today than anyone running, with perhaps the exception of Hillary Clinton."

4. "Since [Donald Trump] has changed his mind on amnesty, on health care and on abortion, I would just ask, what are the principles by which he will govern?"

5. "I didn't get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race ... maybe it's because I hadn't given money to the foundation or donated to his wife's senate race."

-I think Fiorina would make an excellent VP for my favorite candidate, Marco Rubio.  She would also make a great cabinet pick.

-The other candidates didn't impress me at all.  Perry was the only one I liked, but his performance illustrates why he crashed and burned last time around and why he's getting no traction this time.

-Graham, Gilmore and Pataki know they have no chance in hell of winning and must be running to create publicity for themselves.

-Jindal just doesn't come across well at all, he makes me cringe.  Santorum didn't have a chance last time and he sure doesn't this time.