The second Republican the debate was held this past Wednesday, September 16th. If you didn't get a chance to tune in, fear not. Here's a list of some of the most important moments in the debate. (Caveat: this is by no means a comprehensive list!)
1. Foreign Policy. So. Much. Foreign. Policy.
Russia, China, Iran, Syria, and ISIS; all the hot topics in foreign policy were discussed on Wednesday in the Reagan Library. I'd venture to say that of the roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes of debate, at least an hour and 15 minutes was spent on foreign policy issues. This figure is interesting in and of itself. Although coherent foreign policy is essential to the presidency and voters need to understand the candidates' positions, most voters prioritize domestic issues, like, say, the economy over foreign policy. Economic issues were not discussed until after a solid hour of foreign policy discussion. Regardless of whether this was intentional, foreign policy is always a strong point for Republicans. Voters tend to see the Republican party as their "daddy," who offers them better protection than their "mommy," the Democratic party. Despite the sidelining of domestic issues, the seemingly endless foreign policy section of Wednesday's debate helped to reinforce this mentality.
2. Carly Fiorina kicked major butt.
A graduate from the "kid's table" debate the first time around, Fiorina took charge of the whole shindig this time. When asked about what some regard as her failure as CEO of Hewlett Packard, Fiorina emphatically rejected this interpretation of her career, and insisted that, in fact, her time as CEO was a great success. When asked to respond to Donald Trump's comments about her appearance, she simply answered "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said." Throughout the whole night she spoke eloquently and with conviction, and delivered a winning performance.
3. The candidate-who-shall-not-be-named quibbled with Jeb Bush.
(The candidate-who-shall-not-be-named is a certain D. Trump). It was hard to not feel bad for Jeb Bush during the debate. He was constantly being interrupted by Trump. They got into a disagreement over whether Trump lobbied Bush to change Florida's anti-gambling laws during Bush's campaign for governor. Big surprise: Trump was lying.
4. The most concerning moment of all: the vaccine discussion.
As two candidates, Ben Carson and Rand Paul, are doctors, the debate's organizers decided a question about vaccines was appropriate. Now, the potential debate about parents' freedom to choose not to vaccinate their children is one thing, but the conversation that occurred Wednesday was far worse. The question was posed to Ben Carson; he, as a practicing neurosurgeon, was asked to respond to Trump's claims that vaccines are linked to autism. Note: countless studies have shown that vaccines do NOT cause autism. Fortunately, Dr. Carson correctly refuted that vaccines cause autism. Unfortunately, he still gave unnecessary legitimacy to the anti-vaxxer argument by suggesting that vaccinations do not have to be administered as quickly as they are, and that vaccines for "nonfatal" conditions should not be mandatory.
5. Noteworthy performances from Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and John Kasich, among others.
The most important takeaway from Wednesday's debate that all of the candidates had strong moments. Most of them delivered impressive performances, to the point where commentators are failing to reach a consensus about who won. There are certainly some formidable candidates in the race, and the Republican primary is shaping up to be an interesting one.
Remember to tune in to the Democratic debate on October 13th!
