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The Experts Grade the Debate
US News & World Report ^ | December 16, 2015 | James Warren

Posted on 12/16/2015 1:17:42 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Winners included Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and ... Lindsey Graham?

When Dan Fitzmier, director of debate for reigning national debate champ Northwestern University, watched CNN's Republican showdown in Las Vegas, the event's underlying theme was clear: "Who could pass the commander-in-chief mug shot test?"

From that perspective, the field narrowed sharply, he might tell a student looking for his post-mortem on Wednesday's two debates (remember, there was the early one for the real long-shots). Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham stood out. Each exhibited a combo of gravitas, likability and knowledge without being too much of an insider, and they all seemed comfortable in their own skin.

---snip----

"Cruz has a capacity to speak to multiple audience in his messaging," Fitzmier says. "It's almost coded. If you re-read his lines, you can read them in multiple ways; for example where he brings Second Amendment issues implicitly into play without saying anything about gun control and mass shootings."

Fitzmier notes how the Texan chided President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for "making us less safe," with Cruz focusing not on terrorism but taking the rights of Americans away. The communications professor finds that a subtle way to engage his core constituency, which finds the Second Amendment a central issue, but also potentially appeal to a larger audience that's nervous about gun violence and might not quite hear that constitutional reference....

(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cruz; deportthemall; elections; graham; immigration; jihad; moratorium; muslim; tedcruz; trump; trumpwasright
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1 posted on 12/16/2015 1:17:42 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I thought this was a story about FreeRepublic.


2 posted on 12/16/2015 1:21:41 PM PST by Eddie01 (uh oh)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

When a liberal rag trots out “experts” to discuss conservatives,
it should be considered with a great deal of suspicion as:

“we are here to tell you how to think”

Now, I’ll read the article.


3 posted on 12/16/2015 1:22:20 PM PST by kidd
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The writer shows a bias toward officious, professional politicos.


4 posted on 12/16/2015 1:22:56 PM PST by Louis Foxwell (Stop Islam and save the world.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Oh, yeah, I was VERY impressed with Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham. /s


5 posted on 12/16/2015 1:25:32 PM PST by Jim Noble (Diseases desperate grown Are by desperate appliance relieved Or not at al)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Leftscum telling us conservatives how to vote? I’ll pass, thanks.


6 posted on 12/16/2015 1:27:29 PM PST by piytar (http://www.truthrevolt.org/videos/bill-whittle-number-one-bullet)
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To: kidd

Liberal rag is right.


7 posted on 12/16/2015 1:28:23 PM PST by TexasCajun (#BlackViolenceMatters)
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To: kidd

Same with NPR. It’s comical. Seriously. :-D


8 posted on 12/16/2015 1:28:49 PM PST by cuban leaf (The US will not survive the obama presidency. The world may not either.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Interesting take. Not too bad.


9 posted on 12/16/2015 1:31:08 PM PST by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: Jim Noble

I couldn’t believe all the fawning over Graham after the first debate. Did they listen to the same debate we listened to? Liberals have no clue.


10 posted on 12/16/2015 1:32:39 PM PST by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light..... Isaiah 5:20)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Yebbie and Linda Grahamnesty are beyond idiots and Fiorina get more dour and angry every debate. Idiots and angry witches in the WH are not what America needs. Article by a lib definitely.


11 posted on 12/16/2015 1:35:23 PM PST by nclaurel
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I think Carly Fiorina has overstayed her welcome in this campaign. She complains about not getting enough air time and seems to think she is not taken seriously. Then she always has some cliché quotation to toss in, as if it is relevant and makes her look smart and capable. It is not working for her, IMHO.


12 posted on 12/16/2015 1:37:28 PM PST by NEMDF
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

US News and their experts eh?

2 + 2 = 5 or 7, take your pick.


13 posted on 12/16/2015 1:37:47 PM PST by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

US News & World Report is a hard left fish wrap.


14 posted on 12/16/2015 1:38:44 PM PST by VRW Conspirator (American Jobs for American Workers.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
"Experts" on debating are not the same as experts on politics. These academic eggheads may be right if they were scoring a high school debate for points. They seem clueless to the idea that "winning" a debate in politics is based solely on the effect on the voting audience.
15 posted on 12/16/2015 1:39:58 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Far be it from me to challenge the pronunciamentos of The Experts, but inasmuch as the principal theme of this election appears to be to kick them bleeding to the side of the road, I suspect we can apply a serious filter on this sort of thing from here on out. Linda Graham a big winner? Hmm...YMMV.

I suspect at this point that "debates" - these are, of course, nothing of the sort - serve more to reflect political developments than to affect them. From that point of view, Trump remains atop and Cruz gained bigtime. We sort of knew that going in, so breathless announcements of one candidate or other suddenly taking new life are to be tinctured with a bucket of salt.

I except my man Yeb, who clearly emerges as a truly top candidate for the Presidency, once we figure out which country. I'm thinking that bovine expression argues somewhere with musk oxen or perhaps reindeer...

16 posted on 12/16/2015 1:40:31 PM PST by Billthedrill
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Esperts? Esperts? We don't need no stinkin' esperts.

If I had their record this year, I'd seriously consider changing vocations.

17 posted on 12/16/2015 1:44:31 PM PST by pfflier
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“Cruz has a capacity to speak to multiple audience in his messaging,” Fitzmier says. “It’s almost coded. If you re-read his lines, you can read them in multiple ways; for example where he brings Second Amendment issues implicitly into play without saying anything about gun control and mass shootings.”

I find this to be true about Cruz. He has an ability to state his position in a manner which anyone can understand. He seems to be providing an education to his audience without appearing to do so. As a result, when Cruz speaks, we listen and we HEAR.

They called Reagan ‘The Great Communicator’.

Cruz is a great communicator for this generation...


18 posted on 12/16/2015 1:44:51 PM PST by Paisan
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Lessee, a “director of debate” for a “debate champion” is grading the participants in something that could not, in even the broadest sense, be characterized as a “debate” ...that about it?


19 posted on 12/16/2015 1:46:03 PM PST by Walrus (Motto of Congress: Hey, there's plenty enough money for all of us, if we just play nice)
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To: Eddie01

yeah, except these experts like Linda Graham


20 posted on 12/16/2015 1:46:47 PM PST by bigbob ("Victorious warriors win first and then go to war" Sun Tzu.)
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