POLITICO: …The former Florida governor was a ghost for most of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate – and when he spoke up, he was swiftly and effectively counter-punched, most notably by Marco Rubio. As a result, he lost the opportunity to lift his sagging campaign, say insiders surveyed for a special edition of the POLITICO Caucus, our weekly survey of the top operatives, activists and strategists in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents said Bush lost the CNBC debate, botching his comeback opportunity and looking desperate in an attempt to attack Sen. Marco Rubio’s poor attendance record in the Senate. They offered their reactions immediately after watching Wednesday’s prime-time debate in Boulder, Colo…
“Rubio knew he was going to be asked a question about his attendance record coming into tonight’s debate but he didn’t let it rattle him. He was prepared, and when Jeb Bush tried to nail it on him he obliterated him,” said an Iowa Republican. “Anytime you walk away with a scalp to put on your mantle, you won.” … (more)
EDITOR: As we opined a month or so ago, it is going to be a Clinton vs Rubio general election. That is the Democrats worse nightmare.
