Did we learn anything from the Republican Presidential Debate?

2015-09-17T01:40:36-04:00

Tonight I watched the Republican Presidential Debate. In the beginning I kept thinking they're going to address some real issues, they just haven't been asked about them yet. The debate went on and I kept waiting for questions to be asked that affect or address major areas of concern. It seems that they used the rules of the debate as a way to drift away from questions that were asked. They would make recriminations against each other which of course meant a rebuttal was needed and than another statement against someone and another rebuttal.... it seemed to just leap frog back and forth from one end to the other. There seemed to be a lot of time wasted doing this... it reminded me of the last 30 seconds of a basketball game when the score is one point away and winning team has the ball and is running the clock out.... I was disappointed.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/republican-presidential-debate/405802/

Who Won the Second Republican Presidential Debate?

When the GOP rivals squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, a surprising victor emerged.

Response by SMSgt Tony Barnes made Sep 17 at 2015 1:45 AM

2015-09-17T01:45:00-04:00

Yeah, that if you have too many participants it's not a fair debate.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Sep 17 at 2015 1:57 AM

2015-09-17T01:57:19-04:00

I haven't watched it but heard a little of the happy hour debate. They just wanted everyone to jump on trump.

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Sep 17 at 2015 2:09 AM

2015-09-17T02:09:57-04:00

Yep....That CNN was totally going out of their way to try to get the 11 candidates to engage in arguing with one another instead of asking questions and receiving answers/resonses. CNN went full force GUNG HO against Trump....trying to get his goat so to speak...CNN went 45 minutes before bringing in Dr. Carson. I thought this Debate was a total FARCE and CNN had an agenda.

Carly seemed to be able to respond quite well, however she has such a coldness to her.
Carson, though I really like him, shows no enthusiasm.
Rand Paul..he's and idiot and didn't come across well at all
Christy came across full force and though his numbers are not high, he presented himself well, had great answers and stamina
Trump was Trump...he had good and bad moments...and it was obvious CNN was gunning for him.
Cruz....was cruz...he sounds to rehearsed...responds well, is articulate and forceful....but something about him just seems off...too genuine...too deep in his convictions.
Rubio....he seems to be a diamond in the rough. He was articulate...answered very well, was very knowledgeable in all subjects/questions/responses/arguments with others.
Bush...too wishy washy...doesn't seem confident or sure of himself...was in disarray. To me, he doesn't compare to his father or his brother...he's a different kind of politician from them.
...the rest didn't rate, as far as I'm concerned.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2015 2:52 AM

2015-09-17T02:52:31-04:00

I was extremely disappointed with the debate. It was a waste of time, designed to cause everybody to attack Donald Trump and cause multiple bickering sessions. CNN jacked this up!

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Sep 17 at 2015 2:59 AM

2015-09-17T02:59:57-04:00

yeah, not to vote republican.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Sep 17 at 2015 7:37 AM

2015-09-17T07:37:23-04:00

Multiple time oats and 2 points scissored in 20 minutes is far more entertaining than the debate was. I'm sort of glad that Trump showed us even more that he is a clown and Ben Carson just is not equipped to be Prez.

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Sep 17 at 2015 7:38 AM

2015-09-17T07:38:22-04:00

I learned that many invoked the name of President Reagan, but ALL ignored the prescient quote RR displayed daily on his Oval Office desk.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Sep 17 at 2015 9:54 AM

2015-09-17T09:54:34-04:00

CPT Private RallyPoint Member - It was exactly as expected. CNN was successful in having the Republican candidates belittle each other and give the Democrats the sound bites they wanted. No surprises...

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2015 10:41 AM

2015-09-17T10:41:10-04:00

I actually hate that we even talk about who "won" the debate. There is certainly someone who will benefit more from it than the others, but it's not a measurable competition. Especially with 11 candidates on the stage. Some literally never interacted with each other, and the "rules" were ridiculously not enforced. Candidates who followed the rules and didn't interrupt each other (which SHOULD show them in a favorable light. ie Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, etc.) instead got very little air time and will probably suffer from it.

So we basically went to a format that favored those who disregarded respect for the other candidates (and I don't mean based on policy, etc) and literally stole time from the ones who were being respectful and following the guidelines they were all told before the debate started. To be honest, that pisses me off. We've gotten to a point where we are rewarding bad behavior. And, no this doesn't have anything to do with personal style, in fact Donald Trump, who you may assume I was talking about, actually hardly interrupted anyone, he followed the rules far better than most. Since he was attacked though he was afforded the opportunity to respond, so he in many ways benefited from every comment about him.

Once again, the earlier debate had more substance than the second one. In a way this mitigates to me, how well Carly Fiorina did in that debate the first time. The format with fewer people lends for better viewing and addressing of some issues.

Anyways this is a long rant, but I was not happy with how it went. There were some great things brought up and even glimpses into people's plans (except Trumps again :-/) for implementation of their ideas, but there was also a lot of "bickering" and complete disregard for the format of the debate.

I don't think at any time in the future, 10 or 11 (technicality for this one?) should be allowed into one debate. If 15 candidates happen to be in the race again next time, split the debate, 8 and 7.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Sep 17 at 2015 2:20 PM

2015-09-17T14:20:38-04:00

You just explained why I don't watch the "debates".

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 17 at 2015 5:19 PM

2015-09-17T17:19:28-04:00

I guess I could say what I mostly learned is how much I miss Ronald Reagan