In debate, Fiorina simply embarrassed Trump

Home runs flew off the Republican debate stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library when 11 of the 15 Republican presidential candidates crowded onto a stage backstopped by a real Air Force One that President Reagan used.

In the earlier four-man debate of those who didn’t make the top tier, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham won it going away.

The debate did little harm to any of the 11 candidates on the stage, with some exceptions. Donald Trump was wiped out by Carly Fiorina with less than 15 words. They were simple: She responded to the ugly Trump words said about her face with: “I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”

{mosads}Left standing after the three-hour ordeal were eight full-fledged vetted candidates with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul coming up short with C minuses. Walker was better than the first debate; Paul was about the same as was Huckabee. But the other eight were better.

Dr. Ben Carson was good and is certainly better prepared than in his early campaign days. He didn’t say anything embarrassing like he was guilty of some weeks ago (he gets a C+). New Jersey Gov. Christie had some good moments that were measurably better than the first debate (B). The same can be said about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (B-), who highlighted his anti-establishment creds. Ohio Gov. John Kasich (B) also looked good.

Four stood out, with poll leader Trump treading water with his letter grade ranging between C+ and B-. When Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finally got a chance to answer questions, he flexed his foreign policy bones and looked as good as he did in the first debate (A). Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came out of the gate snappier than in the first debate and was able to win the crowd over with a staunch defense of his brother that stumped Trump: that President George W. Bush “kept us safe” (A).

The winner of the night was a scrappy Fiorina who earned an A+ grade. Her ferocity made Trump crawl under a rock, and from there he called her “beautiful” after he had gone out of his way to basically call her ugly and that no one wanted a president with her face. She was well-received by the partisan crowd that relished her attacks on Hillary Clinton as much as they enjoyed her sticking it to Trump, whose face turned red when she recited his casino bankruptcies: all four of them.

How fitting that the debate was staged in the West, for it resembled Clint Eastwood’s award winning movie of good and evil, “Unforgiven.” As the debate progressed, various scenes from the movie flashed through my mind.

We had power-hungry Trump played by Gene Hackman, the innocent outsider “wannabe” gun-slinger Fiorina played by Sharon Stone and the good guy (either of Rubio, Bush, Carson, Christie or Kasich) played by Eastwood.

Like the movie, the debate was worth watching — all three hours of it, with few commercials. PBS couldn’t have done better. Moderator Jake Tapper of CNN was good, but his colleagues Dana Bash and radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt were superfluous and almost invisible.

Unlike the first debate on Fox, no news was made in this one as it was when Trump refused to say he would not run as an independent if he lost the GOP nomination.

What did happen was Bush getting into Trump’s face and showing Trump for who he is, a self-admitted buyer of politicians and a person who inaccurately describes many of his resume points. Bush nailed Trump when he pointed out that Trump failed to convince him, when Bush was governor, to legalize casino gambling that Trump wanted to bring to Florida.

Trump’s four separate bankruptcies were prominently waved in front of the millions of debate watchers and one must think that the Trump casino failures that cost him millions, cost his bankers and investors hundreds of millions and cost Trump his airline, his inelegant 250-foot-long yacht and Atlantic City properties were news to his fans.

All in all, some Trump warts were exposed and there wasn’t anything he could do about it because the debaters had him in their sights and pulled the factual triggers. Jeb Bush looked much better than in the first debate, with Lots of energy. Marco Rubio did well; he sounded like a commander in chief and possibly locked in a vice presidential nomination (at worst).

But the big winner of the night was Carly Fiorina.

Contreras formerly wrote for Creators Syndicate and the New American News Service of The New York Times Syndicate.