CNN/Salem Republican debate: analysis and commentary
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The foreign policy choice
December 16, 2015
By Karlyn Bowman
Karlyn Bowman, a widely respected analyst of public opinion, is a senior fellow and research coordinator at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.
What do Americans want U.S. foreign policy to be? There were some starkly different answers in last night’s Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas. Poll data over time show that Americans want an assertive president. They fear someone who is too weak or too strong. It was Gerald Ford who said Governor [Ronald] Reagan couldn’t start a war but a president Reagan could, trying to raise doubts about Reagan’s suitability for the nation's highest office.
We heard some echoes of that last night as Jeb Bush took on Donald Trump. Although Bush was stronger than in past debates, it isn't clear that his performance last night gave him a substantial boost.
Trump was in character. His first hour was much stronger than his second. No doubt RNC officials breathed a sigh of relief when Trump (and Ben Carson) said he wouldn't mount a third party bid, but we will have to see if he sticks to it.
Americans would be happy to see more democracies around the globe, they aren’t confident we know enough about how to achieve that goal. Ted Cruz responded to the doubts of many about democracy promotion. While Marco Rubio is always eloquent, Cruz articulated a case last night that is appealing to many grassroots Republicans. The Cruz-Rubio exchanges were sharp and interesting.
Americans recognize this is a very dangerous world and Chris Christie seems to articulate the fear America now has better than the other candidates. Polls show that Americans expect another terrorist attack on US soil. It is not a matter of “if” it will happen but “when.” His disdain for Washington’s responses was clear. It is a sentiment many Republicans and many Americans share.
While I am not sure there was a clear GOP winner, the debate was a win for CNN whose moderators handled the large field well.
On Cruz Control
December 16, 2015
By David Kusnet
David Kusnet is a former chief speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton. He is the senior writer and a principal at the Podesta Group, a government relations and public relations firm in Washington, D.C.
Last night, Ted Cruz showed the strategic sense that has made him the leading elected official in the Republican presidential field, according to recent polls.
Cruz avoided the confrontation with Donald Trump that many pundits had predicted and held his own in exchanges with Marco Rubio, while remaining focused on his own objective: consolidating anti-establishment voters behind his candidacy.
In the CNN debate, as in previous multi-candidate events and stump speeches, Cruz has displayed discipline in his framings and phrasings. As I’ve argued in these debate blog postings, preparing for public events doesn’t mean mouthing memorized sound bites, but rather anticipating how to respond to likely questions and counterpunches.
Cruz came prepared not with text but with a template that he followed with remarkable consistency. In responses that required contrasting himself with one or more opponents, Cruz followed this rhetorical roadmap:
First, in measured language, distinguish himself from his rival(s), implicitly or explicitly defining himself as the true believer and his opponent(s) as the trimmers.
Second, condemn President Obama and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton more vehemently than he criticizes his Republican rivals. Sometimes, he attacks other Republican by associating them with these leading Democrats.
Third, conclude by presenting his position.
In his first exchange of the evening, Cruz followed this approach by disagreeing with Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration, while reaching out to his rival’s supporters and offering his own alternative. “I understand why Donald made that proposal,” Cruz began. Then he distanced himself from the Donald: “I introduced legislation in the Senate that I believe is more narrowly focused at the actual threat, which is radical Islamic terrorism, and what my legislation would do is suspend all refugees for three years from countries where ISIS or Al Qaida control substantial territory.”
Later in the debate, Cruz returned to his template to attack the Democrats and, by extension, Republicans who have favored “regime change” in the Middle East, while pivoting to his own position: “Far too often, President Obama and Hillary Clinton—and, unfortunately, more than a few Republicans—have gotten distracted from the central focus of keeping this country safe,” Cruz maintained. He concluded, “And the approach, instead of being a Woodrow Wilson democracy promoter, we ought to hunt down our enemies and kill ISIS rather than creating opportunities for ISIS to take control of new countries.”
Similarly, during an exchange about immigration reform, Cruz used his approach of associating his Republican rivals with the Democrats by declaring: “Where there was a battle over amnesty and some chose, like Senator Rubio, to stand with Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer and support a massive amnesty plan.”
With his strategically structured responses, Cruz is not as entertaining as Trump, as eloquent as Rubio, or as much the everyman as Chris Christie. But he accomplishes what he sets out to do: define himself and dismiss his opponents in ways that appeal to his audience.
See also
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the fifth Republican debate
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Las Vegas, Nevada CNN/Salem Republican debate (December 15, 2015)
- Presidential election, 2016/Polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
- Presidential election, 2016/Straw polls
