Republican Presidential Debate: Live Coverage

Trump said CNBC agreed to his request to limit the length of the debate to two hours. Did the clock start at 8 p.m. or when the debate started, 10 or 15 minutes later? Even if it’s the latter, we’re close to pushing past the two-hour mark, and closing statements are starting only now.

Medicare turned 50 this year, and the program has been pretty darn popular throughout its life — it’s hard to see what candidates win by speaking out against it. Even Ben Carson, who for several years has talked about cutting Medicaid and Medicare, recently changed his tune. The most recent iteration of his plan doesn’t lose those programs, but would give people health savings accounts of $2,000 a year per person. Carson says this will be so much better than Medicaid and Medicare that people will voluntarily leave those programs. As The New York Times explained yesterday, the proposal is incredibly confusing and could easily cost more than existing programs.

Fiorina is getting plenty of speaking time this debate. Seems like she’s OK to me.