[Hoot Gibson]

Bush is done. There is no coming back for him IMHO.

I think Carson will eventually be done in by leaked info from his past. I just don't think he can sustain this consistency of high polling numbers.

Cruz was the best man on stage. IF he can get the party behind him, which is unlikely, he is the REAL conservative we have all been waiting for. Getting the nitwits to follow is hard.

Trump didn't hurt or help, if anything, I think he did what he needed to for this debate.

Fiorina still looks better than the RINOs on stage which is laughable.


Overall, my take....

Trump-No movement
Cruz- Trending up
Rubio- Steady/Trending Up
Carson- Steady/Trending Down
Fiorina- Trending Down
Bush- Life Support. Will need a miracle in my opinion. If not for his last name and donors, would already be out.

And the little engines that couldn't....(and than God, because none of them could beat Killary one on one.)
Christie- No chance, but had one of his better debates. Time to go back to NJ and do his job.
Graham- No chance, Needs to go back to South Carolina and do his job.
Huckabee- No chance, always good for a laugh or two at debates.
Jindal- No chance, needs to go back to Louisiana and do his job.
Kasich- No chance, needs to go back to Ohio and do his job.
Pataki- No chance, may be deceased, I haven't seen him.
Gilmore- No chance, we didn't know him then, we don't know him now.
Santorum- No chance, must like wasting money.
Paul- Absolutely no chance, needs to come back to Kentucky and do his DAMN job and figure out where all these western KY miners are going to work now.



WITH THAT SAID....

If everyone that should bow out did so tomorrow, that would leave Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Fiorina, and Carson. ALL OUTSIDERS, well except Rubio who I just don't trust.
If it were just these five left, what would the poll numbers look like then?

To be completely honest, I honestly hope with everything in me Cruz or Trump gets the nomination. I would love to see that ticket.

Great analysis or maybe it just seems great because I agree with at least 95 percent of it. :lmao:

Cruz has been my first choice since he won his Senate seat. I still don't trust Trump and probably never will, but he has helped several of the other candidates find their spines and helped sink Bush's campaign. For that, I thank Trump for running and will vote for him if he wins the nomination.

I think that Cruz's attack on the moderators was his equivalent of a jockey deciding it was time to make his move for the lead. He has run a masterful campaign so far, IMO. The past few GOP campaigns have seen early front runners race to the lead and then fade as they burned through their money and crumbled under pressure from media smears. Cruz has quietly built a ground organization and made frequent campaign stops in states where he is likely to do very well and he has been relatively frugal with his campaign cash.

After watching Jeb Bush the past few months, I don't think he ever had a real chance of winning the White House. He is a weak leader who lacks the courage to run what needs to be a brutal campaign against a criminal who will do anything to win.

Cruz, Trump, Fiorina, and Christie seem to be the only serious candidates willing and able to campaign against Hillary like a prosecutor trying to persuade a grand jury to indict a career criminal - and that is what it is going to take to beat Hillary Clinton.

I had written off Chris Christie because of his abrasiveness and "the hug," but he had his best debate by far, IMO. If Rubio fades, it may not be too late for Christie to pick up some support from his supporters and some of the Bush support to get back into the race. The establishment truly hates Trump and Cruz, so Fox News and Reince Priebus will keep switching horses as long as one from their stable is still in the race.

The more I watch Kasich, the more I question how such an annoying whiner ever won an election. Political power has really gone to his head in a big way.