What Went Down At The ABC Republican Debate

It’s worth remembering that this is a fatiguing stretch of the campaign. All of the candidates just came from Iowa, and they’re holding lots of events up here in New Hampshire. They’re probably not leaving as much time free for debate prep as they might have earlier on in the race. If you’re a good natural debater like Chris Christie, that might serve you just fine. But it leaves you vulnerable if, instead, you’re someone who needs a lot of rehearsal.

The detail with which Cruz answered the question about North Korea, and the fact that this question was asked at the very top of the debate (granted, an ICBM was just launched by the North Koreans) shows a big difference between the Democratic and Republican race. The GOP primary season has been very much about national security — the threat of ISIS, homegrown terrorism, etc. — while the Democratic race has been so much more focused on domestic economic issues. The foreign policy questions in the Democratic debate on Thursday came toward the end, and Bernie Sanders all but fumbled a question about his foreign policy priorities should he become president. He said that he was most worried about North Korea (over Russia and Iran) but didn’t give a whole lot of specifics about why. Cruz, meanwhile, used the North Korea question to talk about the easing of sanctions on the country during the Clinton era. It’s clear he’s been studying up on certain topic areas.