WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) — Two Floridians went head-to-head in the Republican presidential debate in Boulder, Colorado — and 24 hours later pundits were still analyzing a crisp exchange that could harm one candidate and help another.
Molly Reynolds, a governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institution, weighed in on the exchange, giving high marks to Sen. Marco Rubio for his showing Wednesday night
Rubio, R-Fla., broke out of his shell – partly at the expense of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Rubio is a freshman senator who took some heat prior to the debate when a Florida newspaper called for his resignation after he missed numerous Senate votes.
Bush, who has struggled to gain traction, took a jab at those missed votes during the debate hosted by CNBC.
“But Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work,” Bush said.
Bush’s attack did not faze the senator, 44. Rubio responded by saying, “the only reason why you’re doing it now is because we’re running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you,” Rubio said.
“I think Rubio did very well,” said Reynolds. “He responded well to several potentially tricky questions, and managed to pivot several unrelated questions back to his central talking points.”
Jeb Bush took a backseat during the rest of the debate and faded in the background. Bush has lost ground in recent polls and has cut campaign staff positions and salaries in order to save money as his fundraising efforts slow.
“I agree with those who thought that Jeb Bush did not have a great performance, but the fact that he still has significant financial resources means that he has no incentive to leave the race even if he is polling poorly,” Reynolds said in a phone interview.
In his most memorable quote Wednesday night, Bush challenged, “You find a Democrat that’s for cutting taxes — cutting spending ten dollars, I’ll give them a warm kiss.”
Bush and Rubio — onetime allies — demonstrated that politics is a contact sport, but they are only two of 14 candidates still seeking the Republican nomination.
