Fire and ice. Trump and Carson. One’s hot; one’s cold, and in this debate, only one was well-served by his temperament.
Ben Carson won this debate because the hotter it got, the more he kept his cool.
When his economic plan was directly challenged by one of the panelists, he calmly explained why he was right.
He avoided every trap set for him, and smartly avoided all the shouting around him .
In contrast, Donald Trump just kept turning up the heat, and, in my opinion, was burned by it. He lost because he never explained why you’d want to send him to the White House, unless you love his anger, or his love of himself.
There were eight other candidates on the stage, each of them trying to win more votes, and keep their hope alive.
In that group, I saw another winner and loser.
Marco Rubio was a winner with his third strong debate performance.
Rubio was smooth defending his missed US Senate votes, and his problems with his personal finances.
He also went head to head with Jeb Bush, and bested Bush.
Jeb Bush admitted he can’t fake anger, and he couldn’t make his case against Rubio, either.
Bush came across as well-meaning, but weak … And as a follower, not a leader.
Take away his last name, and he disappears.
I don’t expect a big change in the polls tomorrow.
But, if these debate trends continue, then the sun is setting on Donald Trump…And rising on Ben Carson and Marco Rubio.
Assuming, of course, that I’m seeing the sun correctly.
(Copyright (c) 2015 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)