For the republican establishment, tonight's debate is a good news/bad news event. The good news is that the two candidates they most despise, Trump and Cruz, go into the debate after a week of sniping at each other. The bad news is that they are easily leading the race and one of them is likely to end up being the nominee.
The establishment and media's wet dream is the two heavyweights take each other out in a mud wrestling contest in front of horrified and repelled viewers. Certainly the media have been egging both men on, like schoolyard wimps trying to instigate a fight between two bullies.
Cruz's strategy thus far however has been exactly the opposite. He has done his best to stay in Trump's draft. This gives him two shots at a big prize, if not THE big prize. If Trump falters, he is the obvious backup. If Trump gets the nomination, who better to go on the ticket with him but the smartest guy in the field who also was his wingman in the campaign.
Trump by contrast has misstepped this week in criticizing Cruz, a fact noted with alarm by several conservative commentators who had been supportive of Trump. Trump seems in danger of the getting bogged down in the typical moderate republican quicksand, where they annoy the base by saying things like Trump's criticism of Justice Scalia and get absolutely nothing in return from the media. Trump also took Cruz to task for opposing the notorious ethanol mandate, one of the worst programs in an atrocious agriculture program.
People didn't care about Trump's previous record of being all over the map ideologically, since it came before he was in politics and he was the only candidate who stood with them on immigration. That may still be the case, but they seem to be giving Cruz a long look.
The establishment and media's wet dream is the two heavyweights take each other out in a mud wrestling contest in front of horrified and repelled viewers. Certainly the media have been egging both men on, like schoolyard wimps trying to instigate a fight between two bullies.
Cruz's strategy thus far however has been exactly the opposite. He has done his best to stay in Trump's draft. This gives him two shots at a big prize, if not THE big prize. If Trump falters, he is the obvious backup. If Trump gets the nomination, who better to go on the ticket with him but the smartest guy in the field who also was his wingman in the campaign.
Trump by contrast has misstepped this week in criticizing Cruz, a fact noted with alarm by several conservative commentators who had been supportive of Trump. Trump seems in danger of the getting bogged down in the typical moderate republican quicksand, where they annoy the base by saying things like Trump's criticism of Justice Scalia and get absolutely nothing in return from the media. Trump also took Cruz to task for opposing the notorious ethanol mandate, one of the worst programs in an atrocious agriculture program.
People didn't care about Trump's previous record of being all over the map ideologically, since it came before he was in politics and he was the only candidate who stood with them on immigration. That may still be the case, but they seem to be giving Cruz a long look.
