Overall, I did not find the CNBC debate to be much different in tone or substance than the previous debates.  I agreed that some of the questions were inane (but what else is new) and some were nasty and judgmental (Trump's comic).  The moderator management was the big problem.  Not adhering to times, and, worst of all, not being prepared enough to call some answers for what they were: lies.

Cruz got high marks from some,deploying the Gingrich "media has liberal bias" It always works with this victim crowd.  It was evident that Cruz was waiting to use his line--he even had that barely suppressed smirk.

 Trump was subdued, relatively, he is the best entertainer, even when he does not say anything--just the anticipation of what he might say.  Kasich's comments, while in large measure on target, came across as a tirade.  And, he seemed a scold. Not a pleasant look.  He telegraphed those comments prior to the debate, diminishing the impact.

  Christie, while slouching toward a losing battle with relevance, did get in a good line on occasion.  But, his bully boy has been outdistanced by the pro in this crop. Huckabee said some sane things about social security and medicare, but then it was clear to me that he is in it for the grifting capabilities and he does not care if it shows to all but the marks.

 I did have a different take on Jeb!  He has been assigned to the toast department, given his supposed miss on his Marco hit.  I saw it differently: I think it was a real hit.  Marco deflected it, because the moderators permitted it and the audience preferred Marco to Jeb, making it seem other than what it was.  And, Jeb, was not energetic but he was more than the bowl of mashed potatoes as portrayed. Hopefully, the guy who recommended Jeb wear that undertaker's suit was one of the staff let go.

 Rubio was the apparent star, but that star did not shine very bright.   He seemed as dour as Fiorina on a bad day; he evaded and bobbed around.  The audience did not want to hear that the Sun Sentinel endorsed him, because it was jeb.  But, it was the start of the larger public coming to grips with the fact that Rubio is sleazy, but slick like wax paper. And, as deep.

  The absolute worst was Ben Carson.  His pants must be made of asbestos to withstand that fire.  He not only lied about never having financial relations with that company, but that snake oil company (cures for cancer, m.s, AIDs)product (glyconutrient) endorsement is a biblical abomination, something he claims to know about.  He even had prostate radical surgery and said he did not need it because of that wonder nutrient (bark and aloe) because he is a role model.   I have long maintained that there is something seriously wrong with him.  

 Of course, there was Rand Paul who pledged to filibuster the budget bill, and did so the next day--for 18 minutes.  Paul is likely if he keeps his KY senate seat.  

I like Rubio Carson or Carson Rubio . . .  Rubio also did well in observing that Clinton's hearing had helped establish that Clinton was lying for several weeks after the Benghazi attacks by blaming them on some video producer while privately having told others that the attack was the work of an al-qaeda affiliate, one that needed no video to provoke their attack.

"What the hell are you people doing to me?" Trump demanded in Iowa, where he's no longer in the lead. Perhaps we will look back on this as the moment when the former star of "The Apprentice" fired a state.

Because Carson's voice always sounds so moderate, responses that make no sense whatsoever can sound sort of thoughtful until you replay them in your head.

Bush's only two moments of energy involved Rubio, who he seems to hate, and fantasy football, which he really, really enjoys.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who claims to have made a combined score of 800 on his SATs, wouldn't stop bragging about his poor academic record at the second-tier Republican presidential candidates' debate on Wednesday evening.

Graham took part in the debate in Boulder, Colorado, before the main event, in which the 10 leading candidates are scheduled to take the stage. He faced off against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former New York Gov. George Pataki.

Jeb is in big doodoo.

Why oh why do the moderators so consistently ask unfair irrelevant questions to their candidates?   Why oh why can't they ask substantive policy questions like they do of democrats.
Why oh why??? FOX, CNBC, why do they hate us?    Why do they ask us things that don't matter?

Wait, I know!  
Stop nominating people who are completely baths!t crazy?  How about that? THEN they would not need to ask embarrassing questions about what they think?

One of the wealthiest and most influential Republican donors in the country is throwing his support to Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a decision that could swing millions of dollars in contributions behind Mr. Rubio at a critical point in the Republican nominating battle

The decision by the donor, Paul Singer, a billionaire New York investor, is a signal victory for Mr. Rubio in his battle with his rival Jeb Bush for the affections of major Republican patrons and the party's business wing.

Speaking about candidates' big talk about handling Vladimir Putin, he said, "They say, when I talk to Putin, he's going to straighten out. And then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators."

"If you can't handle those guys, I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you," the President concluded.

President Obama also mocked Republicans for denying climate change.

"You go to a doctor. No, let's change that. If you go to 100 doctors and 99 of them tell you you have diabetes ... you wouldn't say ahhh, that's that's a conspiracy. All 99 doctors got together with Obama to keep me from having bacon and donuts. You wouldn't do that. There's not a single person here who would do that. It would be funny, but it's about climate change."