Genteel Jeb and the Chaos Candidate

It was bound to happen. Donald Trump, the spoiled, 70-year-old face-making candidate, experienced his first slap down. And, it came from “Genteel Jeb.”

Trump’s like a bratty, undisciplined, obnoxious, bragadocious, unstable know-it-all. You can almost hear his theme song running in the background: “Nah-nah-nah-nah-naaaaah-nah” when he says things like:

“People like what I say.”

Jeb Bush had some good lines last night:

“Trump is a chaos candidate and he’d be a chaos president.”

“I won’t get my information from the shows.”

“You’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency.”

Trump shot back:

“I’m at 42, you’re at 3. You’re a tough guy, Jeb, you started over here, Jeb. Now, you’re way over there and pretty soon you’ll be falling off the stage.” “Jeb has failed in his campaign.”

Jeb has the endorsement of not only 12 Medal of Honor recipients, but 27 retired flag officers (admirals, generals, etc.). That’s huge. (Maybe he mentioned that while I was on a water run, but I didn’t hear it.) This sends a strong message that Jeb has the best plan to keep America safe and is best able to lead our military.

Rand Paul opened well, reminding us of the anniversary of the Bill of Rights. His best line was thrown at Chris Christie about Bridgegate:

“. . . when we think about the judgement of someone who might want World War III, we might think about someone who might shut down a bridge because they don’t like their friends.”

Christie handled it with presidential class — he ignored it.

Fiorina attempted to interrupt the moderator repeatedly, but it didn’t work. She mentioned that while climbing the corporate ladder, she was called every “b” word. I don’t think she helped herself last night. Her best lines:

“People are looking for solutions. Technology has moved on and terrorists with it. Our government is not innovating.”

“Talking tough is not the same as being strong. If you want something talked about, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”

Cruz/Rubio

The protracted Cruz/Rubio exchange was boring. Each tried to paint each other a liar over legislation supported/not supported. At least Rubio addressed it seriously, but Cruz seemed to have a case of the giggles. He also wouldn’t stop talking when his time was up. Cruz name dropped, which will play well with Iowa caucus-goers who like Iowa Congressman Steve King.

Chris Christie had a great night. He hit on “actionable intelligence,” and I could have kissed him when he made the point about the Cruz/Rubio exchange:

“If your eyes are glazing over like mine, this is what it’s like to be on the floor of the U.S. Senate.” He made a great point about endless debates and about how many angels are on the head of a pin and never having to make a decision. He clearly differentiated that a governor faces huge accountability and decision-making, compared to senators. In his own words:

“. . . people who have never had to make a consequential decision in an executive position.”

Rubio. Not sure the mainstream media will latch onto it, but I think he was softened up on his promotion of the Gang of Eight amnesty bill. It planted seeds of doubt about his immigration record in the Senate. Rubio did make the case that Barack Obama wants America to be like the rest of the world. More drastic comparisons like that would open voters’ eyes:

“The president has left us unsafe.”

Carson had some good lines, but none of which struck me as poll-changing for him.

Kasich’s incessant hand-chopping distracted me to the point that I didn’t hear any memorable lines from him. He seemed out of his league, compared to his A-team challengers on stage.

Thankfully, Trump and his supporters were finally schooled on the laws of the land in this debate: The Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and First Amendment. His followers had to swallow the first bitter dose of truth and reality: Just because Trump says he’ll do something doesn’t mean he can deliver. His supporters face grave disappointment if they think he can deliver on deporting 11 million people and shut down the Internet. As president, he would have to work with people, uniting and persuading them to support his ideas. I don’t see that his demeanor allows for this.

A president is not a king or dictator. Mr. Trump is a sharp and successful businessman, but he can’t insult people who disagree with him and manage the country like he does his company. The presidency requires special management/leadership skills — listening to others, building relationships, and making calm-headed life-or-death decisions. That’s why governors, who have the experience of leading, managing, and assuming responsibility for the financial strength, safety, and vibrancy of an entire state are far better prepared to handle presidential duties than are those with no government experience. They know how to work with others and within a restrictive system of laws to get things done. We don’t need more chaos or executive order decrees.

We’ll hear a lot of reports about the Cruz/Rubio debate, but I think the two candidates that did the most to help themselves last night were Chris Christie and Jeb Bush.