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Some thoughts:
The establishment isn't going to like Donald Trump. He isn't going to make a third-party run, but he likes to threaten it because he perceives it as leverage. Trump won in some respects because Fox made the debate about him in the first minute. But he was vague in other respects. He doesn't have detailed policy ideas. He had a Gore "invented the internet" moment over the immigration issue. His caustic response on the women-bashing question was his worst moment. Bashing Megyn Kelly was not smart. So I think overall he did OK because he was the focus of attention and he didn't completely self-combust.
Rand Paul looked awful. He took on Trump and it didn't work. He took on Chris Christie and got handled.
Christie helped himself, but you can't help feeling he's running for president because he can't win any more in New Jersey. The whole John Edwards thing.
Dr. Ben Carson looked like he might be asleep for a long time. I liked him, and maybe being likable is what's important at this stage. But I don't like his lack of experience, even though he seems more clued in on issues than the other political outsider.
John Kasich needs to stop waving his hands around. He stayed safe, but he seems too anxious to prove his conservative credentials.
Ted Cruz did what he had to do he establish himself as the right-wing choice. I can see him gaining.
Everyone says Marco Rubio was very good. I don't agree. I want to see more from him because he's my closest match on the issues web site. He seemed very nervous and in-and-out of campaign commercial mode.
Mike Huckabee did what he always does. He's relaxed and on message. If you haven't seen him before, you'd think, "wow, a real presence." He's just too right-wing to gain traction.
Scott Walker seemed to fumble his message. I think he missed an opportunity to move forward.
Jeb Bush was stronger than I thought he would be. For a while, I thought he would be the big winner tonight. But he is running against his family, too.
I come away from this more certain that Trump has a ceiling and is just flavor-of-the-day. But there's no one that seems inspiring out there. Maybe if Rubio can relax a little more. It's still so early.
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