I remember when Sessions and Cruz were thought of as the best we’ve got. How did Cruz ever get as GOOD press as he got?
I had to watch months of senate coverage to get a handle on the senators, and even there they hide pretty well. The sound bites delivered to the press are focus group tested, misleading mush. If you try, as a constituent, to get a straight answer, you will become frustrated.
At any rate, the lazy press does no legitimate analysis, so whatever impression you got is pretty much attributable to Cruz, period.