GOP Debate...

[Alford Bailey 12,386]

So...back on the debate. What do each of the candidates need to do to "win" tonight? For our purposes lets define winning as expanding your pool of potential voters while retaining what you have.

Great question. I guess the first candidate that figures out how to handle Trump wins. And I dont know what that is. I expect Trump wins.

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

Excuses to keep people in poverty. As a matter of fact I have been to some pretty rough inner city areas and Appalachia doing missions work and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing like living in America where everyone has the chance to succeed financially and hear the Gospel so one might find eternal salvation through Christ Jesus. Just hope future politicians don't infringe on such blessings.

I still don't know what you mean by "excuses". They're excuses people tell themselves or excuses other people told?

 

And how many of the people you saw saved were able to extricate themselves from their financial situation thanks to their new beliefs?

 

I agree that everyone has the chance to succeed financially, but not everyone has the same opportunity. Poverty, drug abuse, and violence are cycles and we aren't going to break them by praying really hard. CHRIST would not have told them to pick themselves up by their bootstraps either. And the apostles were pretty big fans of a central organization collecting the wealth of its members and redistributing it to those who needed it more than them. That was literally the foundation of the original Church.

[Hoosierfan2017 21,470]

Jeb Bush's campaign is in free fall so I could see CNN giving him lots of speaking time in hopes of reviving it. I'd like to see guys like Cruz, Carson and Paul get more time. An equal opportunity to speak when we're dealing with picking potentially the next president is important imo. I hope Carson brings more energy because his tone last debate sounded like my mom's when she would read me bedtime stories.

[Bryan Medema 1,488]

Great question. I guess the first candidate that figures out how to handle Trump wins. And I dont know what that is. I expect Trump wins.

My issue is that I don't see Trump expanding his potential voter pool unless he shifts gears (which in and of itself could diminish his current crop of supporters). In my opinion his best move is to start acting like a professional (not a politician neccessarily) and laying out actual policy points. It would help his credibility with other GOP voters and potentially swing some votes his way. I think he's reached his apex of support amongst people who will support him on his antics alone- he needs substance to continue building.

 

As for the handling Trump part, I think that a few candidates need to make that move as a means of establishing their own position (in the same vein). For the more established candidates (Bush, Rubio come to mind) they need to skewer him on any moves towards explaining policy (where he'd be tremendously outmatched).

 

The wild cards are Carson and Fiorina in my mind. If Carson gets more aggressive he could see the needle continue to move, but it could also expose him to "foot in mouth" disease that is a plague to debaters. Fiorina probably has the least to lose but the most to gain. Based on her ability to balance the ticket (in theory at least) she'll never truly fade away, but she could stand to make enough noise to start being mentioned with the big boys.

 

All told, my guess is that: Trump will shy away from policy questions, Bush will attack this, Carson will not be aggressive enough to make a big impression, Fiorina will be aggressive but will struggle to find her footing with Cruz/Trump hogging that tactic, and Rubio will continue to bide his time (I think he's doing the best job playing the long game personally). Oh, and the rest will certainly be on stage. Yup. They'll be there (I have nothing else to say about their respective roles).

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

Jeb Bush's campaign is in free fall so I could see CNN giving him lots of speaking time in hopes of reviving it. I'd like to see guys like Cruz, Carson and Paul get more time. An equal opportunity to speak when we're dealing with picking potentially the next president is important imo. I hope Carson brings more energy because his tone last debate sounded like my mom's when she would read me bedtime stories.

If Carson can't bring it tonight then I doubt he'll make it in the General if he's nominated. His tone makes him sound untrustworthy, like he's reading something he was told to say. I wouldn't even choose him as VP if he can't assert himself in a debate.

[Alford Bailey 12,386]

My issue is that I don't see Trump expanding his potential voter pool unless he shifts gears (which in and of itself could diminish his current crop of supporters). In my opinion his best move is to start acting like a professional (not a politician neccessarily) and laying out actual policy points. It would help his credibility with other GOP voters and potentially swing some votes his way. I think he's reached his apex of support amongst people who will support him on his antics alone- he needs substance to continue building.

 

As for the handling Trump part, I think that a few candidates need to make that move as a means of establishing their own position (in the same vein). For the more established candidates (Bush, Rubio come to mind) they need to skewer him on any moves towards explaining policy (where he'd be tremendously outmatched).

 

The wild cards are Carson and Fiorina in my mind. If Carson gets more aggressive he could see the needle continue to move, but it could also expose him to "foot in mouth" disease that is a plague to debaters. Fiorina probably has the least to lose but the most to gain. Based on her ability to balance the ticket (in theory at least) she'll never truly fade away, but she could stand to make enough noise to start being mentioned with the big boys.

 

All told, my guess is that: Trump will shy away from policy questions, Bush will attack this, Carson will not be aggressive enough to make a big impression, Fiorina will be aggressive but will struggle to find her footing with Cruz/Trump hogging that tactic, and Rubio will continue to bide his time (I think he's doing the best job playing the long game personally). Oh, and the rest will certainly be on stage. Yup. They'll be there (I have nothing else to say about their respective roles).

Great analysis.

[Dalton26 16,892]

I really hope Trump just dives in head first into the policy questions but I just don't see him doing that.

I think Cruz is playing it smart. He can be aggressive and say some outlandish things but if he crosses a line people don't notice as much because they're so focused on Trump.

There's just nothing that impresses me or catches my attention with Bush.

I'm really interested in hearing Carson some more too. Like Bryan Medema mentioned I'd really like to see him be more aggressive.

[Defenserocks28 393]

Japan and S. Korea exist today because of America. You are arguing just for the sake of arguing now.

Huh?  

[OliviaPope40 6,520]

http://national.suntimes.com/national-world-news/7/72/1799670/official-gop-debate-drinking-game-round-2

The drinking game for tonight.

[JaybobHoosier 11,843]

Hey everyone, I am very sorry I took this thread off topic, totally my fault and I want to apologize. Let's please get this back on topic.

I can start a separate thread of you would like about religion/government/history if you would like.

Once again, I really am sorry for my comments because it got this thread off topic. Let's get back to talking about our presidential candidates.

Does anyone have a Bobby Knight for president signs?

[Defenserocks28 393]

Anybody else recognize this comic?  Seems right for this presidential election: (BTW, sorry it's so big, not sure how to resize it in the post)

[Defenserocks28 393]

What do you guys think of Fiorino?

I have to admit, I didn't know much about her.  After reading some of the other posts on the board (thanks to MartintheMopMan and jmsgws) I did a little bit of research and came upon this interesting Forbes article: http://fortune.com/2015/08/14/carly-fiorina-president-2/

 

They basically trash her.  Certainly makes her look inept as a CEO.  

 

She also helped run Lucent into the ground: http://recode.net/2015/09/16/a-few-things-to-know-about-former-hp-ceo-carly-fiorina-before-tonights-republican-debate/

Edited September 16, 2015 by Defenserocks28

[Alford Bailey 12,386]

I have to admit, I didn't know much about her.  After reading some of the other posts on the board (thanks to MartintheMopMan and jmsgws) I did a little bit of research and came upon this interesting Forbes article: http://recode.net/2015/09/16/a-few-things-to-know-about-former-hp-ceo-carly-fiorina-before-tonights-republican-debate/

 

They basically trash her.  Certainly makes her look inept as a CEO.  

Yea, I know little about her as well. NPR did a piece on her yesterday and I got to listen to most of it. Need to do more research.

[OliviaPope40 6,520]

Genius idea at the time. 

[Bryan Medema 1,488]

Genius idea at the time. 

This reminds me of the 2004 debates where Kerry and Bush entered intense negotiations over the details such as how they couldn't be photographed next to each other from certain angles because Bush is significantly shorter than Kerry.

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

I was just assigned the internal extension of "666" in my office. I blame my comments in this thread.

[mdn82 25,510]

Can we all agree from an economic, healthcare, and defense election this is the most important in a long time? I am not a fan of Obama. Some are. Even if we disagree on that we all need to agree to research the candidate that fits us more.

[JaybobHoosier 11,843]

Can we all agree from an economic, healthcare, and defense election this is the most important in a long time? I am not a fan of Obama. Some are. Even if we disagree on that we all need to agree to research the candidate that fits us more.

Jaybob for president?!?!

[Hovadipo 56,266]

Jaybob for president?!?!

Eh...

[mdn82 25,510]

Jaybob for president?!?!