At the Ronald Reagan Library near Los Angeles last night, CNN moderators were determined to generate conflict. Eleven Republican candidates for president responded with almost three hours of political theater. The big question: could anybody lay a hand on front-runner Donald Trump? What's changed in a campaign that's still just getting started? We hear a range of opinions.
The Showdown in Simi Valley
More
- Dowd on political myth-making and myth-repeating in the presidential race
- The Atlantic on the surprising victor in last night's debate
- The Week on the GOP debate, terrible and boring but still consequential
- The Federalist on candidates both coalescing, opening fissures between them
- Foreign Policy on the debate as heavy on insults, light on details
Credits
Guests:
- Matthew Dowd - ABC News - @matthewjdowd
- Molly Ball - National political correspondent for TIME Magazine - @mollyesque
- Douglas Heye - Harvard Institute of Politics - @DougHeye
- James Poulos - The Week / The Federalist - @jamespoulos
- David Rothkopf - FP Group - @djrothkopf