CNN Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

You heard Graham just defend George W. Bush. That’s smart. According to an October CBS News poll, his favorable rating among Republicans was 67 percent. His unfavorable rating was just 8 percent.

The willingness of candidates like Pataki, Huckabee and Graham to send ground troops to fight the Islamic State is a reminder of the promises made by national leaders at the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to fight the enemy regardless of the cost. That cost turned out to be immense: more than 4,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq and more than 2,100 in Afghanistan. And at least $1.7 trillion spent on Iraq and $1 trillion for Afghanistan. Virtually none of the cost was “paid for” in the usual sense of the term; it was largely added to the deficit, with the bill handed to future generations. Pataki just said the fight against Islamic State would not be a “function of years” because the enemy was right out there in the open. You could practically hear the military snorting at the notion that yet another military venture in the Middle East would be a cakewalk.

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.