What can best be described as "Hunger Games: Parts I and II" kicked off with more than three full hours of GOP debate in Cleveland Thursday and with more action and drama than the movies by the same name.
In the main debate, casino mogul Donald Trump ran into a buzzsaw of tough questions and quickly found himself flailing wounded on center stage.
Fox News’ anchor Bret Baier started that debate off with a blockbuster question asking if any candidate would refuse support for another GOP nominee. Trump was the only one to raise his hand and say he would consider running as a third-party candidate. The crowd rained boos on him as a result.
While Trump had some effective answers throughout, he also looked mean when questioned about comments he had made disparaging women. Moderator Megyn Kelly, asked Trump about adjectives he's used to disparage women. “You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.” Trump’s sarcastic response saying they were only for liberal actress Rosie O’Donnell didn’t help dig him out.
Ultimately, liberals were unhappy, which means the GOP did something right.
But Trump did recover, complaining that “the big problem this country has is being politically correct,” he responded.
Where Trump faltered, conservative Sens. Marco Rubio, Fla., and Ted Cruz, Tex., were more than happy to take advantage. Rubio was consistent throughout the debate conjuring up great images for a future America and being tough when needed. At one point bashing Planned Parenthood, Rubio emphasized his pro-life record and said: “Generations will look back at us and call us barbarians” for abortion.
When asked about God, Rubio gave a comment that fit his evening’s theme: “God has blessed the Republican Party with some very good candidates. The Democrats can't even find one.”
Cruz wasn’t to be outdone, drawing more Google search attention than anyone. He told viewers the “We need a commander in chief that speaks the truth. We will not defeat radical Islamic terrorism so long as we have a president unwilling to utter the words, radical Islamic terrorism.” Cruz scored big with Frank Luntz’s debate watchers, too, who loved that comment.
While the top candidates from Zones 1 and 2 ripped each other apart, the earlier debate held out for and found a hero (ine).
The debate, nicknamed #kidstable on Twitter, was led by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina who put on her best Katniss Everdine performance. All she needed was a bow and to turn her criticism of Hillary to “President Snow” and the image would have been complete. Like the Jennifer Lawrence character, Fiorina wiped up the floor with her competitors.
Fiorina earned her plaudits with tough, prepared statements and her own use of filibuster. Viewers of the New Hampshire non-debate would have seen much of what she said, but only locals and wonks watched both. (Hint: I’m not a local.)
