FOX Debate Winners and Losers

For the first time in six Republican presidential debates, Donald Trump wasn't on stage, standing at the center podium. Perhaps surprisingly, on Thursday night at the FOX News-Google-hosted event, the GOP frontrunner was infrequently mentioned and easily forgotten.

The feisty celebrity billionaire had thrown an unexpected curveball into the 2016 campaign this week when he declared he would boycott the Fox News debate amid an escalating feud with the network. Thursday night he was at a sold-out Drake University, hosting an event of his own ostensibly to help wounded veterans. 

With no Trump bluster and theatrics dominating the candidates' exchange, the audience buzzed ahead of showtime, wondering how candidates might recalibrate their debate strategies.

Four lower-polling candidates -- Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Jim Gilmore -- appeared in the 7 p.m. undercard FOX-Google debate. But afterward, Huckabee and Santorum, two previous winners of the Iowa caucuses, said they would go directly from the Des Moines event to Trump's.

Flanking Ted Cruz on stage at the Iowa Events Center were the six other top candidates: Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul.

Here are Sunshine State News' winners and losers in the debate, four days before the Iowa caucuses:

WINNERS

Marco Rubio: The U.S. senator from Florida is always best when he's swinging at Barack Obama and the Republicans' opposition in this race, not at his debate opponents -- though he did score a major point against when he chided Ted Cruz for trying to pander his way to victory. "We're not going to beat Hillary Clinton with someone who will do or say anything to win an election," he said. In fact, even though he was momentarily on the defensive, caught in a flip-flop, Rubio did plenty of the right thing Thursday night. The audience roared when he took hard shots at Clinton and Bernie Sanders, saying Hillary's first act as president may be to pardon herself over her email scandals; and Sanders "is a good candidate to be president ... of Sweden." More laughter. Also, according to Google Trends monitored during the debate, Marco Rubio has the best plan to defeat ISIS, grabbing 30 percent of Googlers, compared to Ted Cruz's 23 percent and Donald Trump's 16 percent. On immigration, he said his No. 1 priority will be to keep ISIS out of America. He would enforce e-verify, build a fence and employ more border agents, but he says he isn't going to deport 12 million people. "Securing our borders is not anti-immigrant," he said. The Iowa audience, if not Ted Cruz, reacted warmly to his response. Rubio desperately wants to come in no further down the list than third in Iowa. It was good timing for probably his best debate.

Jeb Bush: It's easy to see why Bush is on the comeback trail. He is the statesman on the stage in every debate, but on Thursday night, without his chief antagonist to work his bullying magic,  Bush was relaxed, strongly on point, even defended the Bush family name in a way that seemed to warm the hearts of Iowans. He drew wild cheers when he said he wanted to "get the lawyers off the backs of the military." He sparred successfully with Rubio and Cruz, and when the debate ended, voters knew where he stood. "I am a proven conservative reformer who will provide America with serious, steady leadership and real results. I will destroy ISIS, strengthen our military, keep our homeland safe and honor all our commitments to veterans ... I am the one candidate ready to be commander-in-chief, and the Republican who can beat Secretary Hillary Clinton and take back the White House for the Republican Party." Whether that no-nonsense description of who he is and what he stands for pulls in voters, he did indeed inspire confidence.  

Rand Paul: Without Trump on hand to roll him out like a mound of bread dough, Paul was free to explain his positions -- explain, for example, why he doesn't embrace all his father's liberty policies. "I do not support amnesty," he said, "but rather I support a legal immigration process. ... As president, I would secure our border immediately. Before issuing any visas or starting the legal immigration process, we must first (make sure) our border is secure." Asked via YouTube by a veteran who lives in Ferguson, Missouri why "we have better cameras in our pockets than in our precincts," Paul noted that Ferguson's civil government and the War on Drugs have had a deleterious effect on black communities. "Drug use is about equal between white and black," Paul said. "But three out of four people in prison are black or brown." He called for a change in thinking and goals "our party needs to be part of." A strong moment. It's unlikely to help him in Iowa, but still ... by setting himself apart from other candidates on the stage, he might have bought himself more time in the race.
 

LOSERS

Ted Cruz: Cruz never looked comfortable in this Trumpless debate. He started off well enough, talking directly to Iowa voters and summing up what the debate was missing without Trump: "I'm a maniac, everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly and, Ben, you're a terrible surgeon." He got a great laugh. But he fizzled without his chief antagonist and rival. Didn't quite know what to do. Should he attack Rubio and Bush? Hark back to Trump's "unworthiness"? Fight to get more time to rebut issues he wasn't called on to rebut? He couldn't decide, and at times resorted to playing the martyr -- peevishly suggesting FOX wanted everybody "to attack Ted." This was Cruz's least effective debate. He said nothing new and, frankly, missed his chance to pick up votes against Trump. Perhaps his strongest moment was calling Obamacare "the biggest job killer in America" and promising to repeal every word of the Affordable Care Act, in its place allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines, and delink health insurance from employment to make personal, portable insurance. He also had a big closing, presenting himself as the all-around most hawkish-against-ISIS with the strongest conservative values.

Chris Christie: As always, the New Jersey governor came over as sincere and principled -- particularly about defunding Planned Parenthood, strengthening law enforcement in every state and opposing ISIS on our doorstep -- but he added little he hasn't said in previous debates and failed to capitalize on the extra time he was given in front of the microphone.

Ben Carson and John Kasich: Both spoke well, even powerfully at times -- Carson from the right, Kasich from the center -- but neither spoke often enough or found a way to distinguish themselves. Neither apparently was prepared to fight for more talking time on a stage where it's always better to be heard than seen.

Note that we don't include Donald Trump in either list. If his decision to stay away was a triumph, we'll find out Monday night. He'll be a debate winner by default, by virtue of winning Iowa. If he loses the Big Contest, his decision to walk will be discussed in political circles for a long time.

Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith