The only thing I want to talk about this morning is Carly Fiorina, because nothing else happened in either debate yesterday that in any way helps to crystalize our choice in the presidential race. It doesn't matter that Donald Trump was funny or feisty. It doesn't matter that Rand Paul and Chris Christie yelled at each other. And even when the candidates got substantive points in, it really didn't matter because it's nothing they haven't said before. The way they handled the gotcha questions sure doesn't matter.
But Carly Fiorina mattered because she dominated, and in the course of doing so, she showed what decisive leadership looks like. A lot of people are saying that after her performance yesterday she is sure to get bumped up to the A-list debate next time - as if that's the measure of worthiness for someone running for president. She was better off yesterday in the early one because you didn't have 10 questioners tossing around random and unrelated questions in what amounted to massive joint press conference with no particular topic. Precisely because the early debate wasn't the spectacle that the later one became, Fiorina had room to shine. And boy, did she.
Here's her take on Iran and terrorism:
Fiorina also clearly understands that Republicans have to stop screwing around on the question of Hillary Clinton's character, and call her what she really is:
Those comments horrified Democrat mouthpiece Chris Matthews, who decided to call her on the carpet afterward in front of MSNBC and its seven viewers. That didn't go so well:
The way Matthews thinks about stuff like this is just mind-boggling. To him, it's horrible that Fiorina would call Hillary a liar because that might make Hillary less willing to engage with her. Who cares? Your objective as a candidate isn't to make Hillary love the idea of debating her. It's to defeat Hillary, and you do that in part by telling the truth to the voters about what she is: A self-serving, inept lying liar who lies.
I have no idea if Carly Fiorina can win the nomination, but I'm not willing to say it's impossible, and at any rate her performance in the campaign thus far - particularly yesterday - should if nothing else shame some of the "real" contenders into getting their fight in order. And quickly. She's showing them how it's done.
The only thing I want to talk about this morning is Carly Fiorina, because nothing else happened in either debate yesterday that in any way helps to crystalize our choice in the presidential race. It doesn't matter that Donald Trump was funny or feisty. It doesn't matter that Rand Paul and Chris Christie yelled at each other. And even when the candidates got substantive points in, it really didn't matter because it's nothing they haven't said before. The way they handled the gotcha questions sure doesn't matter.