BOULDER, Colo. — A presidential debate that was supposed to focus on jobs and economic growth quickly devolved into a political food fight, a sign that leading Republican contenders are feeling the pressure as the first votes of 2016 draw near.
Prodded by the journalists moderating the third televised debate for financial news network CNBC, underdog John Kasich boxed with front-runner Donald Trump over who is more prepared to be president; struggling former front-runner Jeb Bush attacked rising contender Marco Rubio over his skipping of Senate votes (Rubio slapped him right back); Mike Huckabee got into it with Chris Christie on entitlement reform; and Ted Cruz took aim at the moderators themselves for their choice of questions, in what was perhaps the memorable moment of the night.
“The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don’t trust the media. This is not a cage match. And if you look at the questions: 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? How about talking about the substantive issues?” Cruz said, to the light of the audience.
“I’m not finished yet,” Cruz continued. “The men and women on this stage have more ideas, more experience, more common sense than every participant in the Democratic debate. That debate reflected a debate between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. And nobody watching at home believes that any of the moderators have any intention of voting in a Republican primary. The questions that are being asked shouldn’t be trying to get people to tear into each other.”
But it was a feisty Kasich, the second-term Ohio governor languishing near the back of the pack, who set the tone for the fireworks between the candidates. He used the first question posed, where the White House hopefuls were asked to concede a personal or professional weakness, as a proxy to launch an attack on Trump, the billionaire businessman and reality television star leading most state and national polls, and the other poll leader, retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
“My great concern is that we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job,” Kasich said, over the protests of the moderators. “I’ve watched to see people say that we should dismantle Medicare and Medicaid and leave our senior citizens out in the cold. I’ve heard them talk about deporting 10 or 11 … people here from this country, out of this country, splitting families. I’ve heard about tax schemes that don’t add up, to put our kids in a deeper hole than they are today. We need somebody who can lead.”
The aggressive sparring wasn’t surprising. First votes, in Iowa, are less than 100 days away, and opportunities to break through are dwindling. Only two more debates are scheduled through year’s end, and although the candidates continue to argue, with some validity that plenty of time remains to surge, they’re beginning to feel the heat. The jitters were evident post debate, as several of the campaigns sent out there senior strategists to engage the media who gathered at the Coors Events Center, on the campus of the University of Colorado, to report on the event. That didn’t happen after the first two televised debates, in August and September.
In no exchange was that more evident than the one that occurred between Bush and Rubio.
When the former two-term Florida governor entered the race last December, his supporters subtly suggested that there wasn’t enough space for Bush and Rubio, serving in his first term as a Florida senator. Now, Bush is in trouble and mired in the middle of a crowded primary field, forced to cut campaign expenses and personnel, and Rubio is standing in his way.
That, at least, is how Bush sees it, and why rather than attacking Trump as he did at the last debate in September, he trained his sights on Rubio in his latest bid to turn around his flagging fortunes.
“John, can I say something up here, because I’m a constituent of the senator, and I helped him, and I expected that he would do constituent service, which means that he shows up to work. He got endorsed by the Sun-Sentinel, because he was the most talented guy in the field. He’s a gifted politician,” he said, adding: “But, Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work. I mean, literally the Senate, what is it, like a French workweek? You get like three days where you have to show up?”
Rubio simply dismissed Bush, getting the better of the exchange. “My campaign is going to be about the future of America. It’s not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage. I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Gov. Bush. I’m not running against Gov. Bush. I’m not running against anyone on this stage.”
The Bush campaign denied that the governor now views Rubio, his former political mentee in Florida, as his prime competition as he seeks to reassert a commanding position in the nomination fight. “I would point everyone to Gov. Bush’s announcement speech, where he said it’s everybody’s race, you’ve got to go out and earn the vote. We believed that then, we believe it today,” Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz said. Doing a victory lap of sorts, the Rubio campaign chose not to directly engage. “We can only speak for our campaign,” senior advisor Todd Harris said. “We don’t expect a massive shakeup in the race or in the polls based on this debate.”
The debate also was notable for what didn’t happen.
Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard CEO who was the star of debates one and two — good enough to propel herself into the top tier, didn’t outshine the competion. She didn’t diminish any of the progress made since entering the race earlier this year as an extreme underdog. But nor did lightening strike three times. Fiorina campaign spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said the only Republican woman running for president “showed once again that she the strongest candidate to take on Hillary Clinton,” the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Meanwhile, Trump didn’t attack Carson. The typically agressive Trump, who has hit Carson repeatedly since polls showed him losing his lead to the soft-spoken surgeon in Iowa and one national poll, declined to reprise critiques on Carson’s religious faith, energy level and economic competency. “I heard that he wasn’t going to, and he didn’t,” Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett said, of Trump’s decision to lay off.
