ON POLITICS

Top takeaways from the New Hampshire Republican debate

Cooper Allen, and Paul Singer
USA TODAY

The Republican presidential field met one final time before Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Top takeaways as GOP candidates battled at Saint Anselm College in Manchester:

Big night for the governors

John Kasich and Jeb Bush shake hands during the Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 in Manchester, N.H.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been hammering home a message for months that his experience running a state makes him more qualified to be president than, as he's said derisively, "a first-term senator." Ultimately that will be for the voters to decide, but Saturday night, the message resonated and the jabs landed, particularly against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

"Every morning when a United States senator wakes up, they think about what kind of speech can I give or what kind of bill can I drop," Christie said.  "Every morning, when I wake up, I think about what kind of problem do I need to solve for the people who actually elected me."

He wasn't the only governor, past or current, who came across well, though. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Florida governor Jeb Bush each had strong debates, perhaps their strongest of the campaign.

But the problem for each of them, and perhaps for the so-called establishment wing of the GOP, is that if they all had good nights, and they each pull in roughly equal levels of support, who wins on Tuesday? Most likely, Donald Trump, who leads all polls.

Rubio enters with momentum, leaves battered

Marco Rubio talks to audience members during a commercial break in the Republican debate in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 6, 2016.

There were two dominant stories coming out of Iowa's GOP caucuses: Ted Cruz's come-from-behind win over Trump and the stronger-than-expected third-place finish of Rubio. He was the momentum candidate coming into tonight's debate, but will that change after an uneven performance defined by assertions from Christie that he was simply repeating talking points? Rubio has proved perhaps more adept than any Republican candidate at articulating a consistent message focused on foreign policy that hammers President Obama.

And he did it again tonight. And again. And again. Several times in a period of just a few minutes, Rubio repeated that Obama was not incompetent, but instead intentionally trying to roll back American exceptionalism. But what sometimes is characterized as staying on message came off Saturday night as a recitation of talking points, an interpretation that was pushed aggressively by Christie.

After Rubio criticized Christie's record in New Jersey, Christie shot back "That's what Washington, D.C., does. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech that is exactly what his advisers gave him."

The sabers were rattling 

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz participate in the Republican debate on Feb. 6, 2016, at St. Anselm's College.

Since the Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., attacks late last year, foreign policy has taken on a much more prominent role in the 2016 presidential campaign. Certain GOP presidential candidates, particularly Trump and Cruz, have responded with increasingly hawkish rhetoric, and that was on full display Saturday night in Manchester. A sampling:

Trump said, "I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding."

Cruz said waterboarding wasn't by definition torture, though he wouldn't bring it back in "any sort of widespread use."

Rubio weighed in on Guantanamo Bay, saying "We should be putting people into Guantanamo, not emptying it out."

And Bush said he would consider a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. "The next president of the United States is gonna have to get the United States back in the game, and if a preemptive strike is necessary to keep us safe, then we should do it."

The Hillary factor

Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., on Feb. 6, 2016.

Hillary Clinton, who is still the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, played a much smaller factor in Saturday's debate than in prior events. She was barely mentioned until the moderators offered a video question about how they would be able to run against a candidate who could be poised to become the first female president.

Beyond answers to that question, the candidates were much more focused on bashing each other and President Obama. However, Clinton still got more airtime than Bernie Sanders, whose name was mentioned only a half-dozen times all night, despite polls showing he might beat Clinton by 20 points in New Hampshire's Tuesday primary.

Who is next off the island?

Carly Fiorina steps out of her RV as she arrives for a campaign event at Maple Avenue Elementary School on Feb. 6, 2016, in Goffstown, N.H.

This was the smallest field the Republicans have gathered for any debate night of this cycle, with only seven candidates on the main stage and no "happy hour" debate beforehand. And it is likely to be an even smaller field that gathers for the next GOP debate next weekend.

Christie, Bush, Rubio and Kasich are all vying for the "establishment" mantle going forward, and Christie and Kasich have both said directly that they need to do well in New Hampshire to carry on. It is hard to see both of them moving on to South Carolina if they finish behind Bush and Rubio on Tuesday.

Carly Fiorina, who did not qualify for Saturday's debate, will have to wildly exceed expectations to qualify for a podium next weekend.

Paging Dr. Carson

Ben Carson participates in the Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College on Feb. 6, 2016.

We have no idea what happened or what was supposed to happen at the beginning of the debate as the candidates were being announced. But somehow, Trump and Ben Carson missed their cues and ended up standing around backstage, on camera, as other candidates walked past them to the podiums. Bush, called to the stage by the moderators, patted Trump on the arm, shrugged his shoulders and marched past them to the stage. The video is priceless.