Donald Trump
As
expected, the unexpected frontrunner, standing centre stage at the Ronald
Reagan presidential library, was attacked from all sides. But that's exactly
how the pugnacious non-politician likes it.
Best
moment: He insists he's not "braggadocious" (see his would-be Secret
Service codename below), but even Donald Trump must have been pleased with the
series of early one-liners he used to put down his rivals. After Rand Paul
accused him of junior high insults: "I never attacked him on his look -
and believe me there's plenty of subject matter". And when Jeb Bush
sparred with him over money from donors: "More energy tonight - I like
that".
Biggest
flop: But The Donald had no answer to Carly Fiorina. He was
uncharacteristically muted when she challenged him on his grasp of foreign
policy and blushed when she delivered a Trump-esque putdown over his comments
on her appearance. His awkward response - "she has a beautiful face and is
a beautiful woman" - did not help.
Secret
Service codename: Humble
Final
verdict: Bruised but certainly not beaten. And the usual political rules don't
seem to apply so we'll have to wait until the next polls come out.
Carly
Fiorina
Promoted
to the prime-time showdown after her much-heralded performance during last
month's undercard debate, the former head of computing giant Hewlett-Packard
didn't disappoint.
She
showed a firm command of the issues, which she effectively mixed with personal
touches. While citing her daughter, who died of drug addiction, during a
question on marijuana legalisation could have seemed forced, her answer came
across as sincere. And her response on government funding of Planned Parenthood
- "This is about the character of our nation. If we will not stand up and
force President Obama to veto this bill, shame on us!" - was an emotional
peak.