Winner: Donald Trump

It's a good time to be Donald Trump. While he's fallen a point behind Ted Cruz in Iowa, he remains ahead by double digits in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Nationally, he's doing as well as he ever has, with the two most recent polls showing leads of 23 and 27 points respectively. What he needed tonight was (a) to not be embarrassed and (b) for no one out on stage to break out in dramatic fashion.

He accomplished both, and then some. Jeb Bush and Rand Paul both unleashed attacks in his direction, and he deflected both in grand fashion. Bush he dispatched with all the ruthless efficiency and contempt of a schoolyard bully. I mean that as a compliment —if not of Trump the person, then of Trump the candidate. I mean, just look at this:



Trump: You're a tough guy, Jeb. I know.

Bush: You're never going to be president of the United States by insulting your way…

Trump: I'm at 42, and you're at 3. So far I'm doing better. You started over here [gestures next to himself in the center of the stage]. You're moving over further and further. Pretty soon you're going to be off the end.

Same goes for Trump's exchange with Rand Paul, who assailed Trump's comments about "closing up the internet in some way" as an assault on Americans' freedoms: (Rand tried the same as on here, and Trump said basically what I've been saying and put him in his place)

TRUMP: And as far as the Internet is concerned, we're not talking about closing the Internet. I'm talking about parts of Syria, parts of Iraq, where ISIS is, spotting it.

Now, you could close it. What I like even better than that is getting our smartest and getting our best to infiltrate their Internet, so that we know exactly where they're going, exactly where they're going to be. I like that better. [MIXED APPLAUSE/BOOS]

But we have to -- who would be -- I just can't imagine somebody booing. These are people that want to kill us, folks, and you're -- you're objecting to us infiltrating their conversations? I don't think so. I don't think so.

http://www.vox.com/2015/12/16/102746...winners-losers