# Who do you think will do well in the debate tonight (8/6/15)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146 "2015-08-06T12:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/241 "2015-08-09T09:13:34Z")
I’m not surprised at that either. What support of his isn’t based on name recognition is based on his outsider status. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/242 "2015-08-09T09:59:31Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > All of this is true. To be exact, “On June 12, 2008, Obama’s campaign responded to the rumors by posting an image of Obama’s birth certificate on the “Fight The Smears” website,” according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories#Release_of_the_birth_certificates). This was over two months before the Democratic National Convention and only a couple of weeks after he secured the delegates for the nomination. > > So **SlackerInc** , do you really think that was “evasive for a long time?” And what as for your “sense they were hiding something,” what could that something have been? You can mark up an image of anything. I avoided trouble with my mother for a while when I was in college by taking my college “report card” and doing some Xerox machine magic with it before sending her the much improved version. As I recall, what they refused to do was to authorize the state of Hawaii to turn over records directly to the news media. What they might have been hiding would presumably have been that he was not born there. But I think you’re getting into an automatic fight mode here and forgetting that I not only voted for the guy twice, I gave money to his campaign, made phone calls, knocked on doors for him, etc. I have a framed picture of him and Malia displayed prominently in my home, and I still carry my keys around on a lanyard that has Obama-Biden emblazened all over it. (You can go and look at my posting history going back over a decade and see that if I am some kind of undercover Republican, it’s a very very deep cover indeed, LOL.) I don’t give a shit whether he was born in Hawaii or arrived there shortly thereafter (my own parents had no intention of my being born in Kenya, but the airline would not let my pregnant mother on the plane, so I was born there and they brought me back to the US as soon as it was considered medically safe to do so). He is obviously American in the ways that matter. Furthermore, I don’t think the anti-Obama birthers (which I guess makes me a pro-Obama birther, maybe the only one — at least outside Kenya) are truly interested in following very technical, nitpicky legalistic rules for their own sake. They just hate him and try to throw anything against the wall they can think of, to see if something might stick. This is clear by the lack of concern about Ted Cruz, whose purchase on “Americanness” is shakier then Obama’s even if Obama _was_ born in another country. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/243 "2015-08-09T11:50:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > You can mark up an image of anything. I avoided trouble with my mother for a while when I was in college by taking my college “report card” and doing some Xerox machine magic with it before sending her the much improved version. There was no evidence that Obama marked up his birth certificate. > [@](#): > > As I recall, what they refused to do was to authorize the state of Hawaii to turn over records directly to the news media. You recall falsely. The state of Hawaii was prohibited by state law from releasing it to people with “no tangible interest”, and stated that the copy Obama released was the official copy. Further, by law, they stated that they could not release the “long-form” to anyone, including to Obama himself, though in 2011 he asked for a waiver and was granted it to get a copy of the long-form certificate. In short, there was _absolutely no evidence_ whatsoever that Obama was less than willing to release his birth certificate or otherwise cooperate in the full release of his own birth records. There was no legitimate reason whatsoever, not a single shred, to suspect he was born anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/244 "2015-08-09T11:52:08Z")
It was irrelevant anyway. His mother was a citizen. He was born a citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/245 "2015-08-09T22:27:42Z")
Ben Carson: Likeable, funny and intelligent. Too soft spoken. I’m not sure about the presidency though I bet he’ll hold his own. I liked him. Mike Huckabee: Not my cup of tea, though gave good answers to some questions. But he is too conservative for my liking and won’t get the nomination. Okay. Rand Paul: Performed terribly, acted childish and his attack on Donald Trump to me came off as an attempt to engage Trump. He probably thought taking on Trump would help his name and people would talk about him and what not. But surprisingly Donald was very civil and just dismissed Rand Paul as having “bad night”. I did not like Rand Paul, he is not his father. Chris Christie: I normally do not like him, but he grew on me and his answers were solid. He definitely can go on to the next debates. I liked him. Marco Rubio: Young and full of energy, he has a future and I think he did well. I liked him. Scott Walker: Came off better than I had expected, he seemed respectful of others and did not attack. Liked him better than I would have anticipated. Donald Trump: So-so. His comments to Megan Kelly were very gross, but some of his answers were not bad. He did not engage others and attack them, and seemed to really observe the other candidates and listen to them. The Donald seemed diminished, but in a grounded way. I think moderators should ask him questions regarding different things and see what kind of solutions he will propose. Stop with his controversial stuff and ask about substantial issues. I liked Donald Trump. Jeb Bush: Okay, he has a strong resume and he demonstrated it. Sure some said he did not go all out, but I think Bush did well. He was not terrible at all. John Kasich rubbed me the right way, was not the bland board I thought he would be. Ted Cruz, meh. Of the pre debates I liked George Pataki, seems moderate on social issues and conservative in everything else, and was a three term governor of a large state-NY. Jim Gilmore seems presidential, and for no particular reason I liked him. The others were okay, not terrible. Good speakers like Bobby Jindal, but with weak performances in terms of being governor. Do not like Carly Fiorina at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/246 "2015-08-10T00:50:16Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > Ben Carson: Likeable, funny and intelligent. Too soft spoken. I’m not sure about the presidency though I bet he’ll hold his own. I liked him. > > Mike Huckabee: Not my cup of tea, though gave good answers to some questions. But he is too conservative for my liking and won’t get the nomination. Okay. > > Rand Paul: Performed terribly, acted childish and his attack on Donald Trump to me came off as an attempt to engage Trump. He probably thought taking on Trump would help his name and people would talk about him and what not. But surprisingly Donald was very civil and just dismissed Rand Paul as having “bad night”. I did not like Rand Paul, he is not his father. > > Chris Christie: I normally do not like him, but he grew on me and his answers were solid. He definitely can go on to the next debates. I liked him. > > Marco Rubio: Young and full of energy, he has a future and I think he did well. I liked him. > > Scott Walker: Came off better than I had expected, he seemed respectful of others and did not attack. Liked him better than I would have anticipated. > > Donald Trump: So-so. His comments to Megan Kelly were very gross, but some of his answers were not bad. He did not engage others and attack them, and seemed to really observe the other candidates and listen to them. The Donald seemed diminished, but in a grounded way. I think moderators should ask him questions regarding different things and see what kind of solutions he will propose. Stop with his controversial stuff and ask about substantial issues. I liked Donald Trump. > > Jeb Bush: Okay, he has a strong resume and he demonstrated it. Sure some said he did not go all out, but I think Bush did well. He was not terrible at all. > > John Kasich rubbed me the right way, was not the bland board I thought he would be. > > Ted Cruz, meh. > > Of the pre debates I liked George Pataki, seems moderate on social issues and conservative in everything else, and was a three term governor of a large state-NY. > > Jim Gilmore seems presidential, and for no particular reason I liked him. > The others were okay, not terrible. Good speakers like Bobby Jindal, but with weak performances in terms of being governor. > Do not like Carly Fiorina at all. You’re pretty much the opposite of the consensus opinions from what I have read. For what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/247 "2015-08-10T01:41:50Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > With regularity? > > We only know of one instance where he called a woman (Rosie O’Donnell) names, and frankly I’ve called her much worse. It was also in retaliation to an attack she made on him. His philosophy has always been to hit back when attacked, only harder, so his opponent learns not to fuck with him. That’s a good approach in my opinion. Actually, I think Trump is a bully who enjoys the fight. But you are correct that he prefers to be the 2nd one to strike. [Cite: Trump attacks Walker on thin pretext](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/07/donald-trump-explained-four-words). ## Over at the Daily Beast, a reporter tallies up Trump’s commentary on women in a hit piece: [Donald Trump’s Gross History of Misogyny: From Rosie O’Donnell to Megyn Kelly](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/08/donald-trump-s-gross-history-of-misogyny-from-rosie-o-donnell-to-megyn-kelly.html) Donald Trump easily won the Fox News debate according to Donald Trump: look at the ratings! A preliminary online poll (which did some sampling) puts Trump at 23%, which exceeds his previous polling by a thin margin. The real winners of the debate are those who enjoyed the best boost in polling. From the same very preliminary poll that would be… Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina. Carlson would be in third while Trump and Huckabee would be tied for fourth. Rubio treaded water while Bush and Walker lost some ground. > **[Cruz, Fiorina are big winners in first post-debate poll](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/08/cruz-fiorina-are-big-winners-first-post-debate-poll/)** > >   That means little though as opinion takes a couple of days to solidify and is affected a lot by subsequent coverage. So far though the Donald is crushing the haters and losers. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/248 "2015-08-10T10:38:07Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > There is no god, and even if there was, he only speaks to his prophets. He doesn’t speak to and support a football team, an army, or a candidate for the president of the U.S. Don’t want to derail the thread, but this isn’t very logical at all. It’s one thing to say that the absence of a divine being should be regarded as the null hypothesis, so to speak (something that even an ardent believer like me accepts as totally justifiable from a logical standpoint), but unless one assumes a particular set of scriptures as being authoritative about the nature of a divine being should it exist (which is a funny thing to do if you think there isn’t one), it’s hard to see where one comes up with any limitations on the properties of a divine being in the event that the alternative hypothesis is true. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/249 "2015-08-10T10:48:24Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Very nice catch. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/250 "2015-08-10T18:23:23Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I agree that he may not have been ready to answer the charges, but I’m also cognizant that had he done so he’d have been playing to political correctness in the same way that’s resulted in all the other candidates being so helpless. Donald Trump could have responded to Megyn Kelly’s question without “apologizing” (which is what being PC appears to mean) or deviating from this cocky shtick that is garnering him some attention. How about something like: “Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em. And that’s exactly the type of temperament this country needs in a leader. Someone who isn’t afraid to say when ideas, policies, or even people are being stupid. But it has nothing to do with women, for me. I’m willing to put a no-nonsense woman like Sarah Palin in my cabinet. And when a business savvy women like my daughter, Ivanka, comes into my office, I put her in charge of one of my companies.” Some of that is tongue in cheek, sure, but it is the kind of good response (i.e. hit the “straight talk angle” but deflect the charge) that anybody else might have given. > [@](#): > > Even if he’d done so, his enemies would no doubt want to start probing his businesses and interviewing his female executives and looking for anything they could use to undercut his, for want of a better word, excuses. Won’t they do that anyway? > [@](#): > > I think he was wiser and it was more in keeping with his message and his personna to answer just the way he did… There are a lot of words to describe Donald J. Trump. Wise is not one of them. Trump really is a delusional narcissists, surrounded by sycophants, who reacts to any criticism by lashing out. And that is precisely the wrong temperament for a President. It’s not a PC thing or a “don’t apologize” thing; it’s a “Presidents don’t always get their way” thing, and he can’t handle that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/251 "2015-08-10T19:20:13Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > You never hear anyone attacked for being sexist when they deride America’s ‘angry white males’. You **do** understand why there is a good reason for that, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/252 "2015-08-10T22:38:58Z")
If this Iowa poll is a judgement on the debate, then Fiorina, Carson, and Cruz did the most to help themselves: [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ia/iowa\_republican\_presidential\_caucus-3194.html](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/ia/iowa_republican_presidential_caucus-3194.html) ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/253 "2015-08-10T22:52:22Z")
> **[Trump's Lead Grows After Debate, Controversy](https://morningconsult.com/2015/08/10/trumps-lead-grows-after-debate-controversy/)** > > Real estate magnate Donald Trump’s lead over the Republican field grew in the several days after his performance at the first GOP presidential debate, according to a new Morning Consult survey, even after he invited a new round of scorn from fellow... This one shows Trump as the biggest gainer. Then Fiorina and Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/254 "2015-08-10T23:00:59Z")
That’s amazing. Why should he ever stop saying outrageous things if he just gains support every time he says something? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/255 "2015-08-10T23:21:49Z")
Go Trump go! ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/256 "2015-08-10T23:24:21Z")
Hang in there, The Donald, you have the Dems scared! ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/257 "2015-08-10T23:33:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Go Trump go! And pick Palin for veep! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/258 "2015-08-11T00:04:01Z")
It’s not gonna be Trump. He’s riding entirely on name recognition and Americans’ hunger for an outsider. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/259 "2015-08-11T00:05:43Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > And pick Palin for veep! Camelot redux! We’ll all be eating pizza with a knife & fork. We’ll be classy again… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146/260 "2015-08-11T00:06:40Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [Trump's Lead Grows After Debate, Controversy - Morning Consult](http://morningconsult.com/2015/08/trumps-lead-grows-after-debate-controversy/) > > This one shows Trump as the biggest gainer. Then Fiorina and Cruz. Ah, yes, Breitbart pointed at that poll. As I commented on the Pit thread of Trump: "I also check the polls, and they are consistent for months that if Trump and Clinton are the nominees we are talking about a landslide victory for Clinton as not seen as since the times of Reagan. If this poll is confirmed by others I do think that this is becoming a nightmare for the Republicans. (for the very loopy conservative ones they do believe that this is a dream come true) Of course many moderates did tell them about what they would get by continuing to seek support of republicans of the Tea Party variety and reactionaries. The chickens have come home to roost. " [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-do-you-think-will-do-well-in-the-debate-tonight-8-6-15/727146.md?page=14)