What Went Down In The Second GOP Debate

Ben Carson was incorrectly written off by the media as having a poor performance during the first Republican debate. In fact, however, Google search traffic suggested that a lot of people were looking him up during the debate. It turned out that he was rewarded with a bounce in the polls. But this time around? Carson’s well behind in Google search traffic versus Trump, Fiorina and Jeb Bush. And — relatedly — he hasn’t had that much airtime, or made much of what he’s had. Voters can appreciate Carson’s quiet demeanor. But it’s one thing to be low-key, and another to be low-energy.

I should note again that most Republicans are opposed to raising the national minimum wage. The majority of Republicans (56 percent) are against raising it, according to an August 2015 Marist survey. That’s very different from the majority of Americans (68 percent), who are in favor of raising it.

Before tonight’s debate began (we were all younger then), I wondered whether the Republican candidates would seize on stagnant incomes to criticize President Obama’s stewardship of the economy. For the first 90 minutes, they had few opportunities. Now they’ve been given one, and they’re mostly choosing to focus on taxes and Carly Fiorina’s business record. The one exception is Chris Christie. Right out of the gate tonight, he spoke about Americans’ general sense of stagnation. And as soon as the subject turned to the economy, he addressed the lack of income growth. I’m surprised no one else is jumping on the issue.