What Went Down At The ABC Republican Debate

I wrote a post for our live blog praising Chris Christie’s skills at an event earlier today in Bedford. At that same event, Christie spoke up on the importance of tonight’s debate. He wasn’t kidding. Judging by my Twitter feed (and my own reading), Christie just landed some very heavy blows against Marco Rubio. He clearly knows his political life is on the line tonight.

Have to agree with the consensus that the Christie-Rubio exchange was one of Rubio’s worst moments of the campaign. Even if Rubio’s a guy who needs to prepare for debates beforehand instead of thinking on his feet, it’s a little surprising that he repeated his talking points and didn’t have second, third and fourth lines of argument prepared on the experience attack.

You know, it’s funny when I hear these guys talk about elected-office experience and the Oval Office. Voters don’t necessarily care all that much about it. Three of the last six presidents had served the same or less time as Marco Rubio has in major statewide or federal office by the time he would become president. Barack Obama served four years in the Senate, George W. Bush only served six years as governor of Texas and Jimmy Carter only was governor of Georgia for four years.