foxdebate

As you might imagine, I’m very disappointed that Carly Fiorina did not make the the cut for the prime time debate. The fact that Christie, Huckabee and Kasich are in the main debate is especially irritating with someone like Fiorina not making the cut. But in the scheme of things, if she’s as good as I believe her to be, which debate she’s in Thursday night will matter little. Here are the details, and I look forward to seeing your thoughts.

Via Fox News:

Fox News has announced the line-up for the prime-time Republican presidential debate this Thursday, and here’s who qualified:

Real estate magnate Donald Trump; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson; Texas Sen. Ted Cruz; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

The roster of 10 candidates was determined based on an average of the five most recent national polls. Trump as expected made the cut, as did Bush and Walker, who have each posted strong numbers in recent surveys.

The drama, rather, was at the edge of the top 10. Christie and Kasich, who were hovering by that edge in recent polling, were able to qualify.

But former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and several others will not be on the prime-time, 9 p.m. ET stage. The seven who did not make the top 10 will be invited to a separate 5 p.m. ET debate. Aside from Perry and Santorum, this includes Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; former HP head Carly Fiorina; South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham; former New York Gov. George Pataki; and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

The five polls included in the average that determined the line-up were conducted by Bloomberg, CBS News, Fox News, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University.

And from NY Times:

In a Bloomberg News poll this week of registered voters who identify as Republicans, about 71 percent of those surveyed approved of how Fox News has handled the debates. And an early-state forum that aired on C-Span on Monday night, with 14 of the candidates, highlighted how unwieldy the process is.

But some critics complained that the national polls used to select the debate participants had too small a sample size, with too wide a margin of error, to adequately assess a candidate’s standing.

“I don’t know why they didn’t just do one large poll of primary voters,” said Matthew Dowd, a former adviser to President George W. Bush.

“This has been one of the best quality fields we’ve seen in a long time, it’s just an amazing field,” said David Winston, a top Republican pollster who worked for Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential race.

Of those who did not make the prime-time debate, he said, “these are quality candidates who have earned the right to be involved in a presidential debate.”

There should have been a way to accommodate sitting senators and governors with records of accomplishment, Mr. Winston said. “I understand that having that many candidates is a challenge and it’s a problem they should have figured out a way to resolve,” he said.

This section is for comments from tammybruce.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Tammy agrees with or endorses any particular comment just because she lets it stand.
14 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. cestory says:

    I still don’t understand how Huckabee is in the top 10 and not Fiorina! Being in the early debate, however, may give her an advantage. With all the technology we have now, I’m sure many will see both debates!

  2. bellalu0 says:

    Kasich should not be on this list. They have been pushing him since he announced.

  3. Alain41 says:

    Is Chris Wallace doing the first debate also? If not, that should make it better.

  4. dennisl59 says:

    Remember that Kasich was the Governor of Ohio when Romney needed to win that state the last election. If the voters of Ohio loved Kasich so much, then ‘Mitt’ should have carried the state, that fact that he didn’t means, to me, that Kasich is a dud of the 1st degree. Kasich, Gilmore, Patiki, and Huckabee all egomaniacs that have ZERO chance of the nomination and wasting the time and money of anyone that gives a dime to them.

    posted 8/4 652pm Texas[No More Bush]Time

  5. Dave says:

    I sure as hell hope the fix is not in, I won’t hold my breath.

  6. Cathode Rays says:

    Well, this is a shame.

    I expressed early doubts about her, but I’ve become too jaded. She takes snaky questions from the media and wraps them around their throats. She is knowledgeable and quick. I can only think that a phony politician would quake in her midst. She is genuinely concerned about America.

  7. Cathode Rays says:

    “The fact that Christie, Huckabee and Kasich are in the main debate is especially irritating with someone like Fiorina not making the cut.”

    I find these polls in general to be irritating. Huckabee’s actions as governor of Arkansas should have disqualified him. He’s a lib talking the folksy conservative way.
    http://www.brainshavings.com/2008/01/christian-conservatives-need-t.html

  8. LJZumpano says:

    how long is the debate? 90 minutes? So, without commentator moments, commercials and other distractions each of the ten would have a total of 9 minutes to present a case. Let’s assume there will not be the usual stupid (do you prefer boxers or briefs) questions, and let’s also assume they will “play nice” and not try to hog the mike…I think it’ll be a mish-mash with the loudest and most aggressive being memorable while the rest, some of whom may indeed make for a good POTUS, will sink into the sludge. There has to be a better way to introduce potential candidates to the public. IMO, I think Fiorana can at least get a chance to make a positive impression in the secondary debate, fewer candidates and she should demolish them all.

    • Cathode Rays says:

      Yeah, it has the potential to be a mess. But think of lib media running these things in the past; they were deliberately committing malpractice. Fox News is going to try to do the best job it can.

  9. dennisl59 says:

    My questions to ‘The Donald’…

    1) Name all Executive Branch Cabinet Level Departments.
    2) What is a ‘Pocket Veto’?
    3) Where is ‘Camp David’?
    4) Name all the rights in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.

    posted 8/5 740am Texas[Cruz Country]Time

  10. Kitten says:

    If it weren’t for The Donald, this would be the biggest snooze fest since the last SUTU address. He is the reason many will tune in to watch, me included. While he’s not my choice, he sure has people clutching their pearls. That’s always fun to watch.

You must be logged in to post a comment.