Who Won The Feb. 25 Republican Debate: 5 Telling Moments

Debate quiz.

“This guy’s a choke artist, and this guy’s a liar.”

Was this:

A) a random Tweet in your Twitter feed from someone you went to high school with but never really liked

B) a throwaway line from an AM radio shock jock you accidentally heard while searching for traffic info

C) a comment from the Republican front runner and potential leader of the free world to his rivals in Thursday night’s debate in Houston.

If you watched the debate, you know the answer. Welcome to American political discourse in 2016, where any expression of respect for an opponent is a sign of weakness, where the other guy is horrible, a liar, weak, a choke artist, a loser, etc.

Statesmanship — you’re fired.

The four candidates remaining in the Republican field besides the front runner Donald Trump-- John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson — had one last go at Donald Trump before next week’s Super Tuesday voting. It was a caustic and at times unruly debate in which moderator Wolf Blitzer seemed at times to be operating in the old paradigm, when candidates for the highest office in the land sounded at least slightly more mature than kids squabbling over the last juice box in a grade school cafeteria.

Cruz and Rubio, apparently tired of receiving verbal swirlies from Trump, temporarily put their differences aside and tried time and again Tuesday to gang up on Trump. They tried, and occasionally scored. But amid in the cacophony of small bore ideas — Trump cited participation in a parade as evidence of his support of Israel, for example — it’s hard to see how anyone can find a winner, on the stage or upon the great land beyond.

For the very few who are undecided in this race, though, here are five moments you can use to help you make up your own mind.

The moment that showed Rubio’s opposition researcher was revealed to be Google:

When Rubio accused Trump of hiring illegal laborers, Trump first denied it. Rubio tapped into the power of the Google machine and told viewers they’d see what Trump did if they would Google “Donald Trump, lawsuit and Polish workers. We did: Trump Tower Was Built on Undocumented Immigrants’ Backs; After 15 Years in Court, Workers’ Lawsuit Against Trump ...; Trump Says He Didn’t Know He Employed Illegal Aliens ...

The moment Marco Rubio went all Chris Christie on Donald Trump:

When Rubio pressed Trump on his healthcare plan, Trump repeated over and over that competition would solve the insurance problem. Competition. Competition. Competition. “Now he’s repeating himself,” Rubio said to great applause that both acknowledged him standing up to Trump while reminding people of Rubio’s robotic performance against Christie, which may very well have cost the Florida senator his party’s presidential nomination.

“I saw him repeat himself five times five weeks ago,” Trump said.

“I heard you repeat yourself five times five minutes ago,” Rubio replied.

The moment Mitt Romney joined the debate:

When Wolf Blitzer shouted a question (as he does despite being microphoned) about Trump releasing his tax returns, as Mitt Romney said he should, Trump said, “Romney looked like a fool in 2012 when he delayed and delayed and delayed and Harry Reid baited him so beautifully.”

Trump said he has nothing to hide. He will release his tax returns, he said — right after the “two or three” audits he’s facing are completed.

As for Romney’s part, he wasn’t in the room but had a far better presence Tuesday than he did in any of the 2012 debates.

The moment Donald Trump put the polls in perspective:

When Ted Cruz told Trump the developer couldn’t beat Hillary Clinton in the general election, Trump responded the only way he knew how: bluntly. With a sharpened 8th grade math pencil, Trump reminded Cruz that he, Trump, has crushed him, Cruz, in three of the four elections already held.

“If I can’t beat her,” Trump said, “you’re really going to get killed, aren’t you?”

The Cruz response: Release your tax returns.

The moment Ben Carson finally spoke up:

When Wolf Blitzer continued to give those who were “attacked” a chance to respond, the mostly forgotten Carson interjected: “Can someone attack me, please.”

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons