It's not forgotten. It just falls into meaninglessness against overwhelming precursors. It is fatuous to insist smoke is not a reasonable indicator of fire, and while it may be true, citing it as a reason not to check for the fire is foolish.
Cruz can avoid the McCain/ Romney treatment because he is VERY good at debating
You're missing the point. They're not going to LET him get into debates that let him shine.
As much as I like Cruz, I simply see nothing in him that can overcome the media opposition that marginalizes our candidates with tedious regularity.
If Cruz can’t overcome media opposition, then Trump is the best hope of doing so - the other candidates have less chance than Cruz (see how Carson is melting down); only Trump has the sheer money and business connections to overcome (can probably throw a billion dollars of his own cash at this, no need for fundraising distractions) or stop (can directly affect actual bottom lines) the media opposition.