GOP Showdown: Winners and Losers

Debate No. 2 started off as a bloody melee, and ended the same way.

Wednesday night’s CNN debate began and ended with sharp antagonistic clashes between the candidates, peppered with a few in-depth discussions of policy ideas.

Of course, knives on the stage mean some were bloodied worse than others, and for the candidates who needed to break out or earn a second look, they mostly failed. Here are the immediate winners and losers from the primetime GOP contest:

Winners

Carly Fiorina
The biggest winner of the second primetime GOP presidential debate may just be the same person who was the clearest winner of the first JV debate — Carly Fiorina.

Fiorina arrived determined to prove she deserved to be on that top-tier stage after CNN and the RNC altered their original rules to allow the former businesswoman to participate.

“I would begin rebuilding the sixth fleet and missile defense program in Poland and conduct military exercises in the Baltic states and Vladimir Putin would get the message,” Fiorina roared in the first of a series of answers on foreign policy in which she demonstrated a deep command of the issues facing the nation.

Fiorina tangled with Donald Trump, but held her own defending her business record. But her greatest moment was when confronted with the issue of life.

“As regards Planned Parenthood, anyone who has watched this videotape, I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes,” Fiorina said, her voice tinged with emotion, “watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.”

“This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us,” Fiorina concluded in one of the most stirring moments of the night as the somewhat timid crowd burst into applause.

Look for her numbers to continue to climb.

Donald Trump
Trump skillfully kept up his combative, bombastic trademark style but demonstrated an ability to also speak slightly more softly, sounding like a more reasonable candidate to appeal to a wider, more discerning GOP audience.

“I think she’s a beautiful woman,” Trump said after the issue of his comments about Fiorina’s appearance was raised.

On immigration, Trump said, “It can be done with heart,” referring to deporting the approximately 11 million illegal aliens in the United States. The element of softness was still punctuated with several pointed and witty assaults on most of the other candidates on stage, but marked a departure from his daggers-only approach in the first debate.

Trump slowed throughout the night, succumbing to the three-hour length of the contest. “I think it was a little bit too long,” Trump said in a post-debate interview. Still, Trump maintained a cadence of seriousness not displayed before, and kept on message.

“I’ll be the greatest jobs president God ever created,” Trump said. Winner.

Ted Cruz
The senator from Texas eloquently tied his breadth of experience in a position not immediately recognizable to most Americans, that of the Texas solicitor general, to a back and forth on the Iranian nuclear agreement.

Cruz also came across as the candidate who had done more than any other to fight the Washington establishment while standing up for conservative principles. “I’m proud to stand for life,” Cruz said while responding to a question on tactics to defund Planned Parenthood.

Cruz went on to call Planned Parenthood a “criminal enterprise,” and hammered GOP leadership for failing to join his fight to defund the abortion giant. “We need to stop surrendering, and start standing for our principles,” Cruz said.

Losers

Rand Paul
During an exchange on the Iranian nuclear deal, Paul sounded more like a general election candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky than a candidate trying to win the GOP nomination for president. “Should we continue to talk with Iran? Yes. Should we cut up the agreement immediately? That’s absurd,” Paul said, despite the unpopularity of the deal with grassroots conservatives. “I don’t think we need to be rash,” he deadpanned.

That sounded like a candidate going for squishiness, going for an easy re-election bid. Barring a tense exchange and personal insults traded with Donald Trump at the debate open, Paul was almost totally absent from the rest of the night’s fireworks.

Scott Walker
“We don’t need an apprentice in the White House, we have one right now,” the Wisconsin governor said, following Paul’s lead in going after Trump out of the gate. “We don’t know who you are, where you’re going. We need someone that can actually get the job done.” Perhaps Walker figured that after an attack on Trump sunk the White House hopes of Paul and of former Texas Governor Rick Perry, surely the third time would be the charm.

Unfortunately for Walker, Trump was well armed with rehearsed lines to throw right back at Walker. “You were supposed to make a billion dollars in the state. You lost $2.2. You have right now a huge budget deficit. That’s not a democratic point,” Trump said.

The exchange seemed eerily reminiscent of the Trump-Paul exchange in the first GOP presidential debate. Walker did little else to earn a second look from primary voters, which he desperately needed.

Jeb Bush
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush barely earns a mention as a debate loser, because it has become so clear the establishment favorite has hinged his strategy on his vast campaign war chest and organization, not his personality. However, a candidate consistently mentioned by the pundits as a top-tier contender has done almost nothing to stand out in either of the first two GOP prime-time contests.

Bush defended speaking Spanish on the campaign trail, briefly tried to deny being in the pocket of lobbyists and defended treating illegal aliens with compassion. It was not a stirring performance for those Americans deeply frustrated with the status quo.

Bush did earn plenty of applause for defending his brother’s record as president, highlighting that Bush 43 kept America safe through his term. But Jeb Bush continues to fail to offer a compelling justification for his own candidacy.