If you missed the debate last night here's a great rundown of the taking points and exchanges.

If you missed the debate last night here's a great rundown of the taking points and exchanges.

Originally shared by Jeremy Nixon

Debate notes.

Did the Republicans let Debbie Wasserman-Schultz schedule tonight’s debate for them? Saturday night? What the hell is this crap?

Tonight is the first debate since Donald Trump skipped the Fox debate to avoid tough questions from Megyn Kelly, then lost the Iowa caucus despite leading in the polls. Ordinarily, losing Iowa would be no big deal—you can ask President Santorum and President Huckabee how much Iowa matters—but Mr. Trump’s entire campaign, his entire persona, is centered around being a winner. Also, Mr. Trump is not what you’d call a good loser. How will he handle his newfound vulnerability?

This may be the last time you see Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, or John Kasich on the debate stage, at least in this cycle. Mr. Bush’s campaign has been a flaming disaster, and he probably can’t justify continuing it unless we get a big surprise on Tuesday. Gov. Christie’s entire campaign has been focused on New Hampshire—he basically lives there, now—and absent a strong performance, there’s not much left for him, and no real campaign organization elsewhere. Gov. Kasich is still running, for some reason, but no one really knows why and he probably won’t cling to hope for much longer.

Now, let’s say all three of Mr. Bush, Mr. Christie, and Mr. Kasich drop out after New Hampshire. Who benefits? Almost certainly Marco Rubio, still clinging to the “mainstream” image, which would be laughable if the comparison were not with Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

We’ve already lost Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum. Carly Fiorina is still in but didn’t get invited tonight; Molly Ringwald will, I’m told, be playing her in the movie of this campaign, sitting at home with a bucket of ice cream watching on television.

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Debbie Wasserman-Schultz sent a tweet from what I thought had to be a parody account, wondering why the GOP is “trying to hide” their debate on a Saturday night. She doesn’t even see the irony. You can’t make this stuff up.

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As the debate began, Ben Carson was called second, but remained offstage looking confused. People waved at him to proceed onto the stage, but he stayed in the wings, bewildered. When they called Donald Trump, he came out as far as Mr. Carson and stopped for reasons unknown, perhaps to hang with Mr. Carson for a bit. Others walked past them as they were called. They finally got Mr. Carson unstuck, then called Mr. Trump again. They seemed to forget to call John Kasich, whose podium stood there empty for about thirty seconds, Mr. Kasich waiting offstage to be called, and then Marco Rubio reminded the moderators that Mr. Kasich exists and they called him out.

That was weird.

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And so, we’ve now reached the point in the campaign where the candidates leave the pretense behind and just beat the ever-loving crap out of each other. This one was brutal.

Early on, we had an exchange about Chris Christie’s comment regarding Marco Rubio being a one-term senator, just like Barack Obama. Don’t elect another one-term senator! “Fool me once,” and so on. The question was framed around the topic of having the necessary experience to be president.

Marco Rubio attempted a parry, naming Joe Biden as someone who as “been around a thousand years.” Then he launched into his same old speech about Barack Obama’s systematic effort to change America, the same speech, the same words, we’ve heard from him over and over. Mr. Christie pounced.

Mr. Rubio, he said, has never been involved in a consequential decision where he had to be held accountable. He brought up the senator’s absenteeism from the Senate, saying “that’s not leadership, that’s truancy.” Mr. Rubio began talking again about Barack Obama’s systematic effort to change America—in the exact same words, as we’ve seen him do in debate after debate.

That’s where things got ugly. Mr. Christie, perhaps knowing it’s tonight or never: “I want the people at home to think about this. This is what Washington, D.C. does—the drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him.” When you’re president, he continued, the “memorized speech where you talk about how great America is at the end” doesn’t work.

Mr. Rubio responded by bringing up Mr. Christie not returning to New Jersey right away after the recent blizzard—and the audience booed. Then, on cue, he started talking about Barack Obama’s systematic plan to change America—in the exact same words, as if someone hit “play” again. “There it is again,” Mr. Christie said. “The memorized 25-second speech.” Mr. Rubio then, and this is amazing, started talking about Barack Obama’s systematic plan to change America. In the same words.

Basically, Chris Christie ripped Marco Rubio’s limbs off, then ripped off his head, and shoved the still-bleeding limbs down the gaping maw of Mr. Rubio’s now exposed, gushing neck. It was ugly. Marco Rubio looked worse than he has at any point in the entire campaign.

This is the guy the establishment is betting on, at this point. This is the guy the bookies still have at better-than-even for winning the nomination, Marco Rubio, everyone. Give him a round of applause.

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We nearly had a fist-fight between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump over eminent domain. Conservatives don’t generally like it, but Mr. Trump defended it: It is an absolute necessity for a country, he said. Without it, you wouldn’t have roads, hospitals, schools, bridges. “They all” want the Keystone pipeline, he said, and without eminent domain “it wouldn’t go ten feet.”

Mr. Bush said he was fine with eminent domain “for a public purpose,” but accused Mr. Trump of trying to use eminent domain to take the property of an elderly woman in Atlantic City to build “a limousine parking lot” for one of his casinos. (He’s talking about Vera Coking, who fought the attempt and won.)

“Jeb’s trying to be a tough guy,” Mr. Trump said. “It doesn’t work very well.” He added, “I didn’t take the property.” As Mr. Bush tried to interject, Mr. Trump shut him down: “Let me talk. Quiet.”

The audience began to boo loudly, and Mr. Trump turned his attack on them. They’re mostly “donors, special interests, the people who put up the money,” he said, who got tickets to the event. “The reason they’re not loving me,” he said, over continuing boos, “is I don’t want their money.”

The audience was booing, and some pundits thought Mr. Trump took a hit here, but he made himself look like an outsider rather than a politician, and I think people saw him speaking from experience when he defended eminent domain, whether they liked what they heard or not. As Mr. Bush tried to defend Keystone XL as a public project, Mr. Trump called it “a private job,” and I think everyone knew that was true, too. I’m calling this one for The Donald.

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Because “you said a bad thing about that other guy, let’s bring it up here” is the real pressing issue the country wants to know about, the moderators brought up Ted Cruz’s comment about Donald Trump possibly nuking Denmark while the nation sleeps. Would you like to respond, Mr. Trump?

Mr. Trump pointed out that he didn’t want to go to Iraq, and isn’t as quick on the trigger as Mr. Cruz might think. Okay, Mr. Cruz, a response? Do you stand behind your remark? Mr. Cruz dodges and talks about general policy. “If you notice,” Mr. Trump said, “he didn’t answer your question.”

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Ted Cruz was asked about his campaign email falsely telling Iowa voters that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race. He blamed it on CNN. He said it was reported on CNN, and his campaign believed CNN.

This is not true. CNN did not report any such thing. CNN reported that Mr. Carson planned to go home after Iowa, to take a break from the campaign for a couple of days, but that Mr. Carson planned to stay in the race regardless of the Iowa outcome.

Asked how he felt about it, Mr. Carson invoked Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment (it’s President Reagan’s birthday today) and declined to speak ill of another Republican.

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Asked about North Korea’s test of a ballistic missile, Ted Cruz declined to answer whether he would, as president, launch a preëmptive strike to stop such a test, because he doesn’t know the specifics of the situation. “I haven't gotten the intelligence briefing tonight on North Korea, because I am here in New Hampshire.” The moderator pointed out that Mr. Cruz is quick to endorse carpet-bombing cities to get rid of ISIS.

Donald Trump reiterated that China has “tremendous control” over North Korea, and he would pressure China to deal with their client state.

Marco Rubio recited a memorized 25-second speech about Obama thinking the USA is “too powerful” and weakening the military.

Ted Cruz, asked how he plans to deport 11.5 million people, and how he plans to deal with breaking up families in the process, responded that when someone is here illegally, they need to be deported, and all that’s missing is the political will. He didn’t answer about the families.

Mr. Rubio was asked about his failed bill supporting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Did you fight for it, or did you run from it as Chris Christie said? Mr. Rubio recited a memorized 25-second speech about how Obama has made people not trust the government to enforce the law. “Listen,” Mr. Christie interjected, “again, he’s not answering the question.”

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Continuing with the theme of “Hey, candidate, you said this thing, you wanna say it again here to boost our ratings?” a moderator asked Donald Trump about his previous statements that everyone should be covered for health care. Are you closer to Bernie Sanders on this? Ooh, burn!

“We are going to replace Obamacare with something so much better,” Mr. Trump replied. He wants to create a national health care market, removing the limits on selling insurance across state lines (which is actually a well-regarded plan). Then he brought out the strong outsider persona: There will be a certain number of people who will be on the street dying, he said, and “we’re gonna take care of people who are dying on the street. I think everybody on this stage would have to agree, we’re not going to let people die, sitting in the middle of a street, in any city in this country.” That’s right, folks: Donald Trump still endorses universal health care. The audience weakly, tentatively, applauded, unsure whether they support letting people die.

Ted Cruz said that “socialized medicine is a disaster” and does not work anywhere that it’s been tried. This would come as a shock to the entire rest of the developed world, but okay. “What happens is rationing,” Mr. Cruz continued. We have a shortage of doctors in this country, and health care would have to be rationed.

Of course, we are rationing health care in this country right now. It’s rationed based on wealth. The audience seemed more receptive to this argument; aside from Donald Trump, Republicans are okay with people dying in the street, so long as it’s just poor people.

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Ted Cruz’s plan to deal with ISIS is still carpet-bombing, but he still doesn’t know what carpet-bombing actually is. “When I say carpet-bombing,” he clarified, “I mean it’s targeted, not indiscriminate.” So, he means literally the exact opposite of carpet-bombing. He means not carpet-bombing. He means precision, targeted bombing—you know, like President Obama is doing now, only more of it. There aren’t enough air strikes happening, basically.

I’d like to know, and of course we can’t know, whether there are viable ISIS targets being presented by the military that are being rejected for bombing by President Obama. Because Ted Cruz certainly thinks there are.

Donald Trump’s plan to deal with ISIS starts with bombing their oil and taking their oil. “You’ve got to knock the hell out of the oil.” Then, cut off their access to money via the “back-channels of banking.” “Nobody knows banking like I do.” Civilians would be protected from carpet-bombing in his plan because he would weaken ISIS by taking away their money and their oil, not by carpet-bombing cities.

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“I’m not here just to add beauty to the stage.” —Ben Carson

Oh, Ben, you poor, naïve bastard.

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Is waterboarding torture? Legally, no, Ted Cruz insists. Would you bring it back? “I would not bring it back in widespread use.” The audience booed this statement loudly. He continued that he would prohibit line officers from using it, but would allow it if necessary to prevent an imminent terrorist attack. Basically, only Jack Bauer would be allowed to do it. The audience hated this.

Donald Trump tried a different approach. “I would bring back waterboarding. I would bring back a helluva lot worse than waterboarding.” The audience cheered.

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On New Hampshire’s heroin epidemic, Ted Cruz tugged at our heartstrings with the tale of he and his father going to get Miriam from the crackhouse. Miriam, of course, later died from an overdose.

Chris Christie owned this one: This is a disease, he said, not a moral failing. “I’m pro-life, not just for the nine months in the womb. I’m pro-life for when they get out and it’s a lot more complicated.” He bragged on his record of favoring treatment over incarceration in New Jersey. “The 16-year-old heroin-addicted drug girl on the floor of the county lockup, I'm pro-life for her life.”

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After attacking Marco Rubio for his absenteeism from his Senate job, Chris Christie used his closing statement to remind New Hampshire voters that he’s been spending all his time there instead of at work in New Jersey.

Ted Cruz used his closing statement to remind people that he just won Iowa after coming out against the ethanol mandate and subsidy.

Donald Trump, his closing statement right after Mr. Cruz’s, said “That’s because he got Ben Carson’s votes, by the way, but we won’t say that.” Oh, Donald, but you just said it!

“If I’m elected president, we will win, and we will win, and we will win.” —Donald Trump

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Winner: Donald Trump. I know, I know, everyone thinks Jeb Bush got the better of him on eminent domain, but I don’t see it that way. Still, a loss in New Hampshire on Tuesday will hit him hard.

Also winner: Chris Christie. He gave it his all tonight. We’ll see if it’ll make a difference on Tuesday.

Loser: Marco Rubio. He had an abysmal night.

Loser, not present: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Hiding their debate? Really, Debbie?