With Wednesday night’s third Republican debate just hours away, he finds himself no longer at the top of the polls and uncertain of whether his verbal attacks on a rival will pay off. “But if he lightly spars with him … and it doesn’t look like he’s being overly rude or hostile he can probably attack Carson”.
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The fourteen remaining GOP Presidential hopefuls will be in Boulder, Colorado, on Wednesday for their third nationally televised debate. The main event is still to come, and NPR political reporter Sarah McCammon is here in the studio with a preview.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: Hi, Ari.
And, you look at the questions: “‘Donald Trump, are you a comic-book villain?’ ‘Ben Carson, can you do math?’ ‘ John Kasich, will you insult two people over here?’ ‘ Marco Rubio, why don’t you resign?’ ‘Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen?’ How about talking about the substantive issues the people care about?”
The current leader in polls in the state, Mr. Carson, impressed Bob Klaus, known as Billboard Bob because of his outdoor advertising business in Cedar Rapids. How do you except him to respond to that? Trump spends much of his time in public reciting poll numbers, often with a stack of data-laden papers onstage about finishing in first place. He is a big Trump backer who says his guy should go hard after Ben Carson. Support for Carson has quadrupled since August.
Republicans divide on whether they could support a candidate who disagreed with them on abortion, immigration, and the federal budget.
“I mean, I am second – it’s not, like, terrible”, Trump said. “They tend to reflect media coverage (of which Trump has had an unlimited supply) rather than real voter scrutiny of the candidates”, he wrote.
“Who knows? I think that last time we had [Mike] Huckabee one week and then Herman Cain and then [Rick] Santorum the next week and then we finally settled on [Mitt] Romney who had been the frontrunner all along”, Carroll said.
“I know what it’s like to owe that money”, Rubio said.
All of the surveys of Iowa voters in the past week have put Dr. Ben Carson in the top spot. He’s doing well with them.
Over the past week, Trump has gone after Carson, criticizing his low-key manner and wondering aloud about Carson’s Seventh-day Adventist religion, implying that it’s out of the mainstream.
Three months before primary voting begins, the Republican contest remains crowded and unwieldly. I dont feel like Governor Bush has the skills. Kasich, the governor of Ohio, got a few attention in New Hampshire but has also stalled.
After the last debate, Fiorina saw her poll numbers and fundraising soar, though she has struggled to maintain the momentum. “I promise you I will do such a good job”. A New York Times columnist called him a front-runner who has never led in a national poll and is not cleaning up endorsements or raking in cash.
Donald Trump has ruffled even more feathers after making offensive statements about Muslim women’s attire.
“[Bush] needs to have a performance that stands out from the crowd”.
SHAPIRO: As you talk about scrutiny of Rubio, he’s been criticized for his attendance record in the Senate.
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The bottom line? When it comes to tonight’s debate, the players had better be on point – especially when it comes to the economy. I have the same impression after each debate: He took advantage of several opportunities to prove hes an ass, he said. Sarah, save a few for me.
