I can’t get over the feeling that Vivek Ramaswamy really is trying his hardest to get me into that 2019 Altima that’s on the lot, but he’s got to his manager’s sign-off on the low-ball counteroffer you gave him.  He’s got the vibe of the guy who repeatedly reminds his co-workers around the coffee maker about how he graduated from the ‘used car salesman school’ with top honors because he recited the sales pitches so convincingly.  (And 5% GDP growth while eliminating trade with China to get them back for something, as he said earlier?  This guy ain’t ready for prime time.)

Unfortunately, Nikki Haley had to fend off a misogynist attack from one of her cohorts on stage to jab at another, but she handled it well.  She’s thoughtful, she’s experienced, she’s articulate, and she’s a woman, so she won’t get the nomination.  (Her sober closing statement after Vivek’s “Michelle Obama” rant shut down his nonsense.)

Ron Desantis?  Well, he’s Vivek Ramaswamy’s manager who comes out of the office to say, hey, look, I want Vivek here to hit his quota, but we just need a few hundred dollars more, so whaddaya say?  [Flashes fake smile as he puts his hand out to shake on the deal.] DeSantis relying on his record as governor is a joke, and he came perilously close to repeating Al Gore’s “Social Security lock box” gaffe from 2000, except sprinkled with a bit of extra-judicial murder.

Tim Scott is leaning into his evangelical background, and he looked really good in the tie his girlfriend picked out for him.  But claiming that we should continue to arm Ukraine simply to use Ukrainians to deplete Russian arms is hardly the Christian message of loving life that he proclaimed later.

Give a hand to Chris Christie, the only candidate to directly address the fact that Donald Trump is a losing candidate facing numerous legal issues in his opening answer to a question about why someone should choose them over Trump.  He continues to be the candidate no one in the GOP wants, but they need to have a foot in reality.

Hugh Hewitt continues to get legitimacy even as he prefaces his questions with far-right talking points and loaded questions to push GOP scare tactics.  It works with the Republican audience, but doesn’t play with anyone else.  He comes across as the uncle you don’t talk to at Thanksgiving.

Unforeseenable winner:  China.  From education to manufacturing to military policy, China was the central boogeyman for virtually everything.  It’s kinda funny how a Party that claims to be for free trade and individual thought wants to ban all trade (literally) from China AND block all apps that individuals voluntarily use.

Foreable loser:  NBC News.  C’mon, what good was hosting a debate without asking the one question:  when should Donald Trump step aside from the nomination (or–shudder, God forbid–from office) given his legal difficulties?  And what’s your plan to step in should you be chosen by the Party to take his place if he can’t run?