That's a great point, Sam.
Having thought about it, I think the loser was DeSantis. He really wasn't a player... nobody took shots at him so he was mostly isolated. There was so much hype they'd go after him... but they really didn't. He needed a super strong performance, and instead he just seemed angry, kind of manic, and not really somebody you'd want to watch on TV or streaming every day.
Vivek stood out, but not for good reasons. He was arrogant, had strange takes on issues, and showed zero respect for the others (considering he's so young, a drop of respect would have made a difference).
Chris Christie is who he is, he wasn't afraid to go after T**** and his attacks got applause (and boos), but that's all he's good for.
The others really blended into the wallpaper. Pence a bit when talking about J6, but he was way too heavy on religion the who time. We get it, we got it 8 years ago. Asa and Doug weren't memorable at all. And gosh, I had to look it up to be reminded about Nicki Haley and Tim Scott. That's how memorable they were, although Nicki blasted the GOP a bunch of times which was nice now that I think about it.
Can't imagine anything changed. There weren't breakout moments. They were cowards for not taking on T**** (except Chris) and how do they expect to beat him if they don't contrast with him? So they mostly get an F for that. This debate will be forgotten... well, today, when T*** gets arrested and booked.
Fox News was a loser, too. They lost control of the debate, candidates ignored the rules, and the mob crowd with incredibly disruptive. Only once did Bret even say anything. It was a stupid idea to let the audience cheer and boo through the whole thing, made it much more circus like.
***
I promise I didn't see any of the after debate coverage, but now looking, MSNBC hosts concurred about DeSantis and they picked up the same things.
And check this out with Vivek... they were dial testing him and when he said climate change was a hoax he dropped like a rock (esp with women). Also just learned about Navigator Research @NavigatorSurvey
Helping
shape the debate for progressives on the issues that matter most for Americans. NavigatorResearch.org
https://twitter.com/NavigatorSurvey
Vivek's dial collapsed when he called T*** "the greatest president of the 21st century". lol
The GOP is a total mess. What a shame. (Lamenting the lack of a strong two party system, but they did it to themselves and it'll take more collapse to bring them back.) They've lost 3 elections in a row + the 2 specials in Georgia, and lost the popular vote in 6 out of 7 presidentials IIRC. Democrats aren't good at taking yes for an answer, but since 2016 we've had a hell of a streak. Events like this make me even more confident we'll win next year.