It was absolute mayhem! I hope the RNC has learned that they need to either establish clear guidelines for these debates, or boycott the liberal networks! CNBC was an absolute joke. Harwood, Quick and Quintanilla were derisive, and the whole debate was unorganized, and chaotic. Most of the questions were condescending and imbecilic: regulating Fantasy Football. Really? Kudos to Christie for calling out the moderators for asking such innocuous questions when we have pressing issues in this country, like ISIS, the economy, and immigration, just to name a few.

The moderators were intentionally baiting the candidates, trying to get into a fighting match. They are all liberals, and they have no interest in helping out the GOP. Their intention was to make them look bad. Helloooo… Reince Priebus….you are not helping the cause!

To their credit, most of the candidates stayed above the fray. A little back and forth between Trump and Kasich, and Jeb Bush sure tried to get into it with Marco Rubio, but Rubio wasn’t having it. Good for him! He was the bigger man, and Jeb Bush just looked pathetic.

I was beginning to wonder if Donald Trump was still “in the arena”…he had very little air time. He really didn’t say anything new, but he did have a good line on the gun free zone, and at the end when he commented on how he was responsible for shortening the debate, so they could “get the hell out of there”.

Carly Fiorina actually ended up with the most airtime, which she fought hard for, but I kind of got tired of listening to her. She is extremely intelligent, and I agree with most of what she says, there’s just something about her delivery that I don’t care about.

Ben Carson had some good moments. I thought he came back well with his answer about gay marriage. He didn’t really stand out, but he didn’t hurt himself either.

Ted Cruz was Ted Cruz. Not to repeat myself…but I just don’t like the guy. He had a good line when he attacked the moderators and commented that they’re the reason America doesn’t trust the mainstream media. It also managed to get him out of answering the question he was asked on raising the debt ceiling.

Chris Christie had a good night. He is at his best on DOJ questions. If the whole president thing doesn’t work out, he would make an awesome attorney general! His best line was the one I mentioned above, followed by his scolding of Harwood with….”Do you want to answer this question John, or do you want me to?” I think he’ll see a slight bump in his poll numbers, but he won’t displace the top three.

Huckabee, Kasich and Paul didn’t hurt themselves, but they didn’t stand out either. Jeb Bush just imploded! His “warm kiss” response was just odd. I think when his criticism about Rubio didn’t land, and handed Rubio some of the best applause of the night, he just kind of fell apart. I think he’s on his way out real soon.

And the winner is….my hero of the night…Marco Rubio! He was put on the defensive almost the whole evening, but he stayed calm and gave as good as he got. He had some really good lines. My favorite was the line about the Democrats having the most powerful Super Pac of all….the mainstream media. He nailed that one! His comeback to Jeb Bush was priceless, and rendered Bush impotent for the rest of the night. Rubio will see a bump in his poll number for sure!