Tuesday, February 2, 2016

In brief, Hillary...

...Clinton "won" last night, Bernie Sanders also "won," Ted Cruz actually won, Donald Trump lost, and Marco Rubio "won" by vastly outperforming expectations.

(I saw that Rubio -- who just vaulted back into first place for the nomination on Paddy Power -- already picked up an endorsement from Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Is the establishment coalescing around him?)

I was wrong in thinking Hillary and Trump would win Iowa outright, Cruz would come in second and Rubio would disappoint. Mea culpa.

I think I was right, though -- it's impossible to know -- that Trump made a mistake by not participating in that last debate. Not only did he give his rivals more air time, but it may have also been seen by some Iowans as a "stunt" unworthy of a serious candidate. (Some of the talking heads last night said Rubio picked up some late votes from Trump. I believe it: "dated" the Donald, "married" Marco.)

As for Rubio -- whose surprising finish I suspect will be the "story" today -- I just don't get the appeal. As I wrote the other day, everyone -- except me -- seems to think he's a great speaker with an "optimistic" message. All I ever hear is a bunch of dystopian talking points spewed out in rapid-fire succession.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that Rubio is often described as "whip-smart." Really? I guess the bar for Republicans is a little lower. I've heard Paul Ryan described as "a Republican’s idea of what a policy wonk sounds like." Is Rubio a Republican’s idea of what a "whip-smart" person looks like?

Sen. Rubio is about to feel the "full force and fury" from a certain New York real estate tycoon. Let's see how he handles it. Personally, I think the man is an empty suit.

On to New Hampshire!

2 comments:

Ed Crotty said...

Iowa is *way* more religious than America. The last 2 winners were Santorum & Huckabee. Cruz will fade fast, and I agree that Trump will cut Rubio apart. Trump is very Sun Tzu. Bernie has shown he can win white people. If he can win non-whites is the question.

Ed Crotty said...
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