Callista and I watched the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Fox News with great interest. The debate stage brought back memories of the many debates we participated in when running for President in 2012.
Let me start by saying I thought Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum did a good, solid job of moderating the debate. I was concerned that too much of the program would be taken up with questions about President Donald Trump. They showed real discipline in having only one section on President Trump and focusing the rest of the debate on other issues first.
There were a couple of moments when it was clear the candidates were running away with the debate and Baier and MacCallum were really challenged to get the stage and pacing back under control. They did a great job.
While it got a bit rowdy at times, I thought it was a good sign that the candidates were engaged and energized. In the end, the debate is about the candidates—not the moderators.
There were two big winners last night.
First, President Donald Trump won by drawing an enormous audience to his interview with Tucker Carlson. He avoided being the immediate target of eight other people (which he would have been if he had been on stage). He was also helped by Vivek Ramaswamy emerging as a standout debater. Ramaswamy’s success guarantees that most of the candidates will have to focus effort on stopping his momentum. That will be time and effort they will not be able to focus on defeating Trump.
Second, Ramaswamy won because he was attractive, interesting, and just plain different from the traditional politicians on the stage. Some people found him too smooth. A friend wrote me, “he’s a bit like a preacher with beautiful flowery language. But the real issue is how he accomplishes much of what he says. He does not acknowledge the brick wall that is our government bureaucracy.”
Ramaswamy will now face two challenges. In future debates, his opponents will come armed with opposition research and will be much tougher on him about his positions—including things he has said in the past. There will be a definite effort to put him on defense and start shrinking him as a potential nominee.
