Gloves come off at GOP debate

A rowdy South Carolina audience reveled in the first Republican presidential debate of 2016, as top presidential contenders played a political version of King of the Mountain two weeks before the primary season begins.

It looked like the evening in North Charleston might be mostly a Cruz-Trump faceoff, as moderators directed questions to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, about lobs from GOP front-runner Donald Trump. (Cruz is in second place in most national polls but looks poised to win the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.)

Moderators asked Cruz about Trump’s ongoing assaults over Cruz’s American citizenship. Cruz was born in Canada, but since his mother was an American citizen, born on U.S. soil, Cruz says he meets the requirements that a president must be a natural-born citizen. (Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., effectively made the same point during his own presidential bid in 2008. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.)

Cruz, a constitutional lawyer with what appears to be a photographic memory, seemed at ease dismantling Trump’s accusations. He also seemed to enjoy poking back at Trump by saying the business mogul pushes the issue because he’s “dismayed” at Cruz’s rise in the polls.

Trump dismissed the charge, but a few moments later, when moderators asked why he was raising questions about Cruz now, Trump admitted, “Because he’s doing better.”

It wasn’t over for the duo, and Cruz unwittingly handed Trump perhaps his strongest moment in a debate yet.

When a moderator asked Cruz why he recently took a jab at the “New York values” of a candidate like Trump, Cruz handled it with a light touch, encouraged perhaps by a sympathetic South Carolina audience. He talked about the “socially liberal” values of a place like New York, and the obsession with money and media.

Trump talked about 9/11.

It was a smart and surprisingly emotional play for the business mogul, a devout New Yorker, who described watching the Twin Towers come down, breathing “the smell of death” for weeks, and watching the heroic efforts of brave workers who cleared the rubble of the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil and rebuilt Lower Manhattan.

Criticizing such New Yorkers, Trump said, was insulting.

It was an effective play, not necessarily for New Yorkers who might be inclined to support a Republican candidate, but for a nation still moved by 9/11 nearly 15 years later. A mildly stunned Cruz didn’t offer a rebuttal, and though he eventually recovered, it was a significant blow.

More was coming.

Cruz had strong moments, as he excoriated President Barack Obama for a significant omission during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Though news had just broken that Iranians had captured 10 U.S. sailors, the president didn’t mention the men during his speech. (Iran has since released the sailors.)

But another showdown was looming, this time with Cruz’s fellow Cuban-American: Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio is placing third in national polls and trying to make a run to catch up with the front-runner status of Cruz and Trump.

He came prepared.

When Cruz took a late-debate jab at Rubio’s evolving stances on immigration over the last few years, Rubio pounced: “Ted Cruz, you used to say you supported doubling the number of green cards, now you say that you’re against it. You used to support a 500 percent increase in the number of guest workers, now you say that you’re against it. You used to support legalizing people that were here illegally, now you say you’re against it. You used to say that you were in favor of birthright citizenship, now you say that you are against it. … That is not consistent conservatism; that is political calculation.”

Cruz responded by quipping that Rubio was “dumping your oppo-research file on the debate stage.” Rubio shot back: “No it’s your record.”

Cruz denied parts of Rubio’s rapid-fire assault, though he didn’t have time to refute each point. Ultimately, the damage was done: Rubio had raised doubts about whether Cruz’s views on immigration and other issues had always been as black-and-white as the Texas senator now portrays.

The pair also sparred over their views of taxes in an exchange that set the stage for a substantial discussion of economic policy—an issue that could drive the upcoming presidential election.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tried to break in with a nuts-and-bolts discussion of basic economics, but Trump responded, “We don’t need another weak president.”

A frustrated Bush tried to communicate that we do need a president who has a depth of understanding on a range of complex issues—something Trump still hasn’t displayed in his public appearances. Bush’s message apparently did resonate with one voter in the audience: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who dropped out of the presidential race last month, will announce his support for Bush this morning, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston.

The whole crew of candidates, including the ever-irascible New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the still-cheerful Ben Carson, and the hanging-on Ohio Gov. John Kasich, still have one more round before the primary season begins: Another GOP debate is slated for Jan. 28 in Iowa.