This was the moment when Ted Cruz lost the debate

The opposition is getting nastier by the day. They would like to see him and his supporters in Hell. But if that happened, I as a Cruz supporter, would not be surprised to see old Ted debating the Devil and winning.

But here is the problem for Cruz - even if you win a debate against the Devil, you still go to Hell.

That's the problem with all of this who-won, who-lost the debate talk. It doesn't really matter, you can debate circles around the other guy and win the debate, and you still lose the election. Remember the Romney-Obama debates?

Trump thought outside the box to the bigger picture, and won the night again.

...Doing that cutesy thing with poking fun at Trump's tendency to vivid description of people made Cruz seem, well, not prepared to move on and discuss the issues.

...I thought Santorum and Huckabee were winners. They gave very appropriate and commanding statements at Trump's event...

The knock on Cruz is that he has no sense of humor. I disagree, I think he has a great sense of humor. But he has a HORRIBLE delivery. That's why his joke went so terribly wrong.

Flip over to Santorum and Huckabee as in your example. Both of those guys used some self-deprecating humor and humorous stories in their remarks, yet you considered them "appropriate", as did I. Trump is ALWAYS making humorous remarks and asides. It's all in the delivery and how one relates to the audience.

What you said about Cruz not having the timing with his humor makes a lot of sense. Perhaps it's like a lot of things with Cruz. He never seems to be spontaneous or sincere.

You made another good point. Huckabee and Sanotrum used self-deprecating humor in their short remarks. Cruz's attempt at humor in his opening was not self-deprecating, which might be why it didn't work.

Trump thought outside the box to the bigger picture, and won the night again.

If that's how you win (by not showing up to debate the issues because you are afraid you're going to be confronted with nasty facts and accusations), then how are we, the voter, going know where the candidates stand on the tough issues? What's he going to do as POTUS if Putin insults him and refuses to deal? Walk away from the table?

The debate was not a love-fest. Trump could have removed any lingering doubts among the Iowa voters if he had used the opportunity. Instead, he chose to walk away from the debate and attended a love fest. That's not thinking outside the box, it's disrespectful to all voters who want the best candidate for POTUS.

I believe it's a character thing with Trump. The other candidates showed up to debate the issues and answer questions for the undecided voters of Iowa. Evidently Trump has enough votes so why should he care.

...even if you win a debate against the Devil, you still go to Hell.

Some of us Bible thumpers debate the Devil and face Hell and damnation everyday. We have hope through our savior, Jesus Christ (who BTW holds the keys), that we will never go to Hell for our sins. But for a rich man who has never asked forgiveness...his chances are not so good.

Sure, no argument there. My point being, one has to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. In politics debate wins are just talk, like claiming to be a Christian in life. But in politics one needs to actually get the votes (the walk), just as in life one needs to act in a Christian manner. That was my extension of your debating the Devil comment.

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