Donna Brazile
In what was likely a rehearsed moment, Cruz continued to lambast the CNBC panel. “This is not a cage match,” he said. More applause.
Then Sen. Cruz showed total genius – pre-planned or not. Under the guise of attacking the moderators for their questions, Cruz managed to repeat all the unflattering things asked of his opponents: “Donald Trump, are you a comic book villain? Ben Carson, can you do math? John Kasich, will you insult two people over here? Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign? Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?”
Applause from the audience followed. It didn’t stop there.
Sen. Marco Rubio led off the media bashing earlier, also to applause. “The Democrats have the ultimate super PAC,” he said. “It’s called the mainstream media.”
And even earlier, Trump had tweeted, “I am now in Colorado looking forward to what I am sure will be a very unfair debate!” Some complained that CNBC moderators were attempting “gotcha” questions. Instead, it looks as if the Republicans executed their own thought-out “gotcha” plans. And it worked … for now.
Before the main debate, there was the so-called “undercard debate.” It’s not clear if anybody won that debate; it’s not clear if anyone really can win it. Face it, the undercard debate looks like the competition they hold for kids during halftime of the Super Bowl. On this undercard debate, social media comments were replete with the word “painful.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham did come away with good marks from most political observers. Mitt Romney even tweeted that Graham deserved to move up to the “big stage.”
Back at the featured debate, the media bashing continued like the execution of a well-rehearsed football play. Both Cruz and Trump offered their opinion that the Democrats had much easier questions. (The difference was that Democrats were asked clear, substantive questions and didn’t sidestep them.)
Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee, tweeted, “I’m proud of our team for standing up against the improper and unprofessional display put on by CNBC.”
Backstage, Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz got into what a Politico reporter described as a “heated confrontation” with a CNBC producer over the debate format and the lack of speaking time Bush was getting.
Republican commentators were at the ready to reinforce the idea that the media can’t be trusted, which if believed, would give the Republicans the last word on any narrative during the 2016 campaign.
The Republican “victim” mantra did backfire with some. Byron York, chief correspondent for the conservative Washington Examiner, tweeted, “Strong sense in Boulder (that the) debate will be (the) media/CNBC story above all. Words ‘disaster,’ ‘catastrophe’ flying around. Serious blowback for RNC.”
There were many who agreed that the moderator’s questions were way too long and winding. Some questions were longer than the answers. It didn’t help that the moderators lost control of the debate from the start. The candidates ruled throughout – bickering, over-talking, and back-and-forth arguing with the moderators. It was close to chaos.
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, in his closing remarks, took his own slap at CNBC. As for the network itself, a spokesman issued a one-line retort: “People who want to be president of the United States should be able to answer tough questions.”
With less than 95 days before the Iowa caucuses, this debate proved once again that some of the candidates are destined to win, and some are simply going to hobble by until the voters put them out of contention.
Next to Cruz, Rubio was a star performer. He took on Bush’s witty criticism of Rubio’s poor attendance record in the Senate, suggesting he was practicing a French three-day workweek. But, Rubio had a commanding comeback, “I don’t remember you ever complaining about John McCain’s vote record, and the only reason you’re complaining about mine,” Rubio asserted, was because a Bush strategist suggested attacking him.
Gov. Chris Christie appears ready for his moment, if it ever comes. He scored, or roared, by playing off a Bush reference to fantasy football as inappropriate, given all the problems that could be discussed, and bawling out a moderator for interrupting him.
As for Bush, it was not a good night. He offered to give “a warm kiss” to any Democrat who will cut spending by $10. Somehow I don’t think that was a phrase that he really wanted to work in there.
Trump and Carson, the current front-runners, were content to hold their own and not risk their leads in the polls. Carly Fiorina garnered moments before the cameras, but said nothing that people were repeating in the “spin room.”
The takeaway is this: If you’re looking for a presidential candidate who will relentlessly attack the media, you’ve got plenty of choices among the Republicans. The next media thrashing is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Milwaukee. Bring your own popcorn.
— Donna Brazile is a senior Democratic strategist, a political commentator and contributor to CNN and ABC News, and a contributing columnist to Ms. Magazine and O, the Oprah Magazine.
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