CNN Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

Q: Ted Cruz is probably the most far-right presidential candidate in many decades. Could someone that extreme actually get elected? — Brendon Nelson A: Sure. I think, generally speaking, being that extreme ideologically makes winning more difficult, but it’ll be hard to beat the Republican candidate if Obama’s approval rating is at 40 percent. If it’s closer to 45 percent, then Cruz’s extreme ideology compared to the median American voter could cost the Republicans the election.

How big should the U.S. military be to fight the Islamic State? It was determined, in the past, by the idea of a “two-front strategy,” or the idea that the U.S. military should be able to simultaneously fight two wars in different battle theaters. But terrorism is not conventional war. The tactics of the Islamic State can be more like a flash-mob than standard battlefront formations. It’s unclear whether a return to the two-front standard would sharply shift the nation’s military staffing, let alone priorities.