NEW YORK TIMES: Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was hammered as callow, ambitious and lacking in accomplishment during the Republican presidential debate here on Saturday night, as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey led an all-out assault to try to halt Mr. Rubio’s growing momentum ahead of the critical New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Rubio, facing the fiercest attacks yet of the Republican race after his strong third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, looked rattled at times and faltered as he pushed back with scripted lines about President Obama that Mr. Christie mocked mercilessly. While the Republicans clashed on issues like abortion and torture, the concerted effort to take down Mr. Rubio dominated the debate.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Donald J. Trump also pounced on Mr. Rubio, whose rising popularity in New Hampshire poses a grave threat to their candidacies. But it was Mr. Christie who was the most pointed and personal in his derision of Mr. Rubio — a strategy that may not ultimately bring him votes, but could wound Mr. Rubio just as he has been ascending… (more)
EDITOR: We intended to publish the account of the first Republican ‘adult’ debate that took place last night from the conservative but usually fair minded NewsMax, but their account, though correct, did not do justice to exchanges that took place and the damage done to Marco Rubio and the performance of others.
Gov. Christie had been a federal prosecutor and he pierced the Sen. Rubio’s façade and so rattled him that he repeated the same “twenty-five second, memorized speech” three times in a row, even while being criticized for using sound bites rather than responding to questions. He looked like the proverbial dear in the headlights.
The ultimate beneficiary of the exchanges between Christie and Rubio may turn out to be Gov. John Kasich. New Hampshire voters tend to be knowledgeable, Kasich has been endorsed by most state newspapers, and he has devoted the past month to attending small meetings across the state.
The sounds bites accompanying the New York Time article are well worth watching, especially for those who missed the debate.
