Republican Field Narrows in Third Debate

BOULDER – Republican Presidential candidates took to the stage in Colorado last night for the CNBC debate, which focused on economic issues. Front-runners Donald Trump and Ben Carson continued their dominance, at least in terms of audience response. Florida Senator Marco Rubio made the biggest splash, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush gave perhaps his most disappointing performance to date.

Moderators Becky Quick, John Harwood, and Carl Quintanilla immediately set the candidates against each other with questions that invited attacks against Trump and Carson. The two were framed as political novices pedaling plans that appealed to voters in theory but would fail miserably in practice, particularly their tax plans.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, who had been going after Trump in the media this week, quickly took the bait. But despite considerable screen time and plenty of meaty policy offerings throughout the night, Kasich appeared unable to gain ground, and voiced considerable frustration with voters, urging them to "wake-up" and get behind someone who understood how to do the job. Trump, who didn’t get quite as much spotlight as previous debates, nonetheless managed to deflect virtually every attack with seeming ease and was the hands down winner according to all major online polls.

Dr. Ben Carson, who rallied in the most recent polls and has now lead in four of the last five Iowa polls, remained steadfast in his commitment not to attack his opponents. The retired pediatric neurosurgeon also seems virtually bullet proof. Even questions perceived as negative by the audience drew enormous boos, which seemed to ward off potential attacks from his opponents (even from Trump who had tested attacks on Carson on the campaign trail to no avail). Carson’s stock looks like it will only keep rising, and it’s hard to imagine his campaign imploding absent a major scandal.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who have lingered at the very bottom of the polls did nothing to suggest that would change. Huckabee hasn’t seemed like a serious candidate since announcing and seems more interested in raising his own media profile, but Senator Paul has struggled in vein to bring his platform and ideas into the forefront of the race.

Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina, who got a boost in the last debate seemed to sputter, though she remains an obvious potential choice for the bottom half of any ticket. Fiorina was the candidate who most often mentioned Hilary Clinton and seems to be reminding Republicans of the potential benefits of having a female on the ticket, should Clinton secure the Democratic nomination.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had another good debate and offered perhaps the most specific policy platform next to Kasich, but it will remain to be seen whether he can manage to climb out of the 2-3 percent range, where he’s been stuck since entering. Texas Senator Ted Cruz again hit a lot of the far-right high notes, but has not been able to capture grass roots voters' imagination the way Trump and Carson have. Cruz has a loyal base of supporters who have pushed him into the top 5 and helped him raise a competitive war chest, but he just doesn’t seem capable of attracting supporters beyond that dedicated core.

The big winner of the night was no doubt Senator Marco Rubio. Jeb Bush went for broke and attacked his former apprentice for missing votes in the Senate, but Rubio deftly volleyed the dig along with every ensuing Jeb attack and moderator-delivered 'gotcha' question served up.

Rubio doesn’t offer a lot of substance or specifics, but his rhetoric and prose is the best I’ve seen since Ronald Reagan, and it’s conceivable that last night in Colorado he launched what will be remembered as an epic comeback. If a Republican not named Trump or Carson gets the nomination, it will be Marco Rubio–period!

Meanwhile, the Boulder debate may well be remembered in history as the night Jeb Bush’s nearly-dead campaign finally died. Bush continues to perform worse each time out, and has now offered his supporters no evidence at all that he can create even modest momentum to springboard from later. Bush’s effort to attack Rubio was nothing short of pathetic, and sitting there watching, it was hard not to feel embarrassed for him. Rubio turned the attack into a big moment for his campaign and despite looking up at the much taller Bush, managed to make him look awfully small.