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The second Republican debate got off to raucous start with the candidates challenging each other’s past comments, especially remarks made by Donald Trump.

CNN which hosted the debate seemed to formulate its strategy for the debate by having the candidates take Trump and other candidates to task over remarks they had previously made, this enabled the debate to divulge into a contentious exchange before the hosts pivoted the debate too more substantial policy issues.

Beyond the public attacks on each other, the question like in all debates is who won and who lost. Pundits will score it one way, but the ultimate decider of the winners and losers of this debate will be the American people.

From my vantage point the clear standout winner was Carly Fiorina, followed by Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie.

The loser in the debate was Donald Trump, not because how he carried himself, which in itself is a problem, he just did not have and substance to his answers beyond criticizing everyone.

The frontrunner going into the debate was billionaire businessman Donald Trump, who showed up with his cantankerous, and reality television persona. This worked to a degree in the first part of the debate, he was able to handle punches thrown at him, and then when the debate went into serious policy issues; he showed he had no clear understanding of the issues.

Throughout the debate he kept up his reality television character, which made him look un-presidential and childish. When pressed on what he would do in Syria, he stated that I would make Russian President Vladimir Putin like me, and he just kept stating this concept.

Trump did not help his cause when pressed on more detail on how he would handle foreign policy, was that he would hire the best advisors, and he would immerse himself in the issues once elected president. Hardly reassuring to voters!

Florida Senator Marco Rubio jumped in and came across as knowledgeable of foreign policy and an understanding of the Middle East region. This was the same with Carly Fiorina who truly shinned in this debate far surpassing Trump in understanding the complex issues the country faces.

Throughout the debate Fiorina clearly understood the issues and had sharp responses to a host of questions and was able to make clear subtle swipes at Trump, especially as it relates to her looks, which Trump made before the debate.

The other winner in the debate was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who came across knowledgeable of the issues and at one point scolded both Trump and Fiorina when they spared over who had the better resume. Chrisite vocally stated no cares about your resume; the real concern should be with the American worker.

The other front runner for the Republican nomination, neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson did alright, but had a difficult time expressing himself on key issues especially foreign policy. Carson did gain an advantage over Trump regarding vaccination of children, which Trump stated causes autism. Carson refuted his claim with various fact checkers corroborating Carson’s point that there has been no shred of evidence autism is caused by vaccinations.

The other candidate who needed to do well in this debate was Jeb Bush, he did much better than last month’s debate by showing more emotion, but at times he seemed to have difficulty when answering questions regarding his brother’s presidency.

The other candidates on the stage fared well, with each having good moments, not hurting themselves, but just not standing out from the pack.
Ohio Governor John Kasich, kept focusing on the issues and not pivoting into personnel attacks, but he had difficulty in foreign policy, but came across respectable on economic policy.

The debate focused more on foreign affairs, with a small portion being spent on the economy. I am not sure this was done by design or that foreign affairs just took over the debate questioning.

The other candidates, such as Senator Ted Cruz did well but he seemed angry to often when answering questions, but he had command of the issues, and I am not sure he helped his candidacy with voters beyond his base support. He his competing with Trump voters, but he may gain some votes from Trump because of the way he handled himself during the debate.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee did well and solidified his support among evangelicals, but his appeal beyond this will be limited.
The most contentious issue of the debate was immigration with everyone stating their position, but missing was any reference to the missing component that both Democrats and Republican fail to mention; what is the host country of these immigrants doing to keep these people in their own country? What are we doing to help in this effort?

Missing in the debate when questions turned to the economy was nobody really mentioned the struggles by small businesses across the country? Nobody mentioned the low labor participation rate, or the high student debt ratio or anything else that the average American family is going through.

Maybe the next debate will focus on these issues.