CBS Republican Debate: Live Coverage

If you watched the GOP debate tonight, you missed this:

Tonight we saw Trump not only get personal with charges against his opponents, but also respond to the charges that he is vulgar (for repeating the words of a supporter who called Cruz a misogynist term). Marco Rubio has made hay out of the issue, saying he couldn’t even discuss the word with his sons. But Trump’s closing statement stuck very much to his talking points about making America great — and was much calmer than the rest of his debate performance. I still believe the person who could most effectively take down Trump is Trump himself.

Apparently this is going to be the tone of the rest of the debates. They’ve already been through all the major issues in the previous hundreds of forums — how many times have we heard the same immigration tape loop, the same refrain on eminent domain and postcard tax returns? — but there are an infinite number of ways to insult each other and their families, an endless path to feigned anger over the latest ad or stray remark. To keep voters watching, and to stand out from the white noise, most of the candidates apparently feel they have to boil over on camera. Eventually, of course, that will become tiresome, too.