Minnehaha County Republicans Liked Carly Fiorina Much More Than Donald Trump

An informal straw poll taken at the Minnehaha County GOP Debate Watch Party showed Carly Fiorina the clear winner after the CNN debate at the Reagan Library in California. She finished a strong first, followed by Marco Rubio, Trump a distant third, then Ted Kruz, Scott Walker, John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, and Rand Paul.

My opinion on what happened last night is this:

Donald Trump stumbled. Dr. Ben Carson was OK. Carly Fiorina excelled. Governors John Kasich and Chris Christie showed the “right stuff. ”

Three times Donald Trump looked like a fool. He attacked Rand Paul’s looks. He was patronizing when discussing Jeb Bush’s wife. In a theatrical manner he reversed himself on Carly Fiorina’s appearance when she stated that American women heard him perfectly when he disparaged her in a Rolling Stone Article. Her statement on the subject drew instant strong applause. The Showman tried, but he was clearly out of his element. I predict he will lose several points in the various polls.

Dr. Ben Carson at times seemed unsure of himself. His eye contact was not good. Even on a subject in which he has expertise, immunizations, he had trouble articulating his points.

Carly Fiorina came to the debate to work, and she did. Her concise, on subject responses drew applause many times. I expect her numbers to go up significantly.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush held his own. He came with higher energy and more focus. He did well.

Paul, Rubio, Huckabee, and Cruz did not hurt themselves, but they didn’t score many  points.  Each of them played to their conservative base. Wisconsin Gov. Walker performed well, but others did better.

Both Gov. Kasich and Gov. Christie, talked about the need to work across party lines to get things done. A realistic approach coming from elected leaders with experience in the trenches of partisan politics.

The debate lasted three hours, with a couple of short breaks. The format allowed for interaction, among the candidates and there was plenty of that. It was informative and entertaining. At the beginning it appeared Donald Trump was going to dominate the evening. He tried with his usual sophomoric comments, but it didn't work. Others showed true leadership in style and substance, he didn't. I got to know these people better. It was worth the time to watch.

I think Carly Fiorina did the best. She looked, acted, and sounded Presidential. She earned the right to be there and she proved it.