NH GOP "Voters First Forum" **live commentary thread**

[Maxwell]

Here are some thoughts:

I think Carly Fiorina did the best job of the group. She gave a strong answer for the 2008 economy question (for conservatives), was very sharp and concise, and knew what she was doing.

I liked Pauls answers, but beyond that I don't think he particularly stood out.

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker switched places in a way - I thought Walker over-performed expectations and gave concise, well done if overly rehearsed answers while Bush kind of fumbled the ball.

The worst performance in my mind, by a healthy margin, was Rick Perry, who sounded totally unhinged in terms to his emotional reactions.

Pataki was notably rusty, in my view, probably the second worst performance of the night.

Bobby Jindal got in some good lines (I liked math denial), but then fumbled the ball completely when he called himself a "doer, not a talker", which was a line that could be perfectly delivered by Rick Perry but sounded ham handed and kind of embarrassing when it delivered by Jindal.

Ben Carson's answer on healthcare was not bad actually, but then his reasoning for tax cuts were ridiculous, and he fell into his wandering, dreadful speaking style from his announcement speech in his closing statement.

Ted Cruz's Iran Deal response, with the black background, made him seem like Dr. Doom and Gloom, not a good luck for a candidate for President. I will give him credit for, unlike the rest of the hawks, actually giving some sort of specifics on his Iran Deal. It wasn't especially enlightening, but it was something.

Marco Rubio followed the format I've seen from him - when given a question that is vague and non-policy related, he hits it out of the park with his pre-prepared speech. When given a question that asks about actual policy, there's a real lack of depth that I noticed even in this forum where there isn't much depth, and I don't think it shows promise for his campaign down the line.

I thought Kasich sounded better than he did when he was running for Governor, but I think his attempts to sound like he was a working class guy trying to relate to people sounded a bit over the top. It was almost as if he was running for social worker, not for President.

By comparison, Lindsey Graham's story hit a lot closer to home. I actually thought Lindsey Graham did a good job for the material he was working with, and it certainly resonated with the other candidates, who acknowledge him in a way that no other candidate was acknowledged. I almost think he's like McGovern in 1984 - no chance of winning, but gaining the hearts and minds of the GOP elders and probably earning a strong reputation for the rest of his career.

Rick Santorum did okay for what he was saying, at least until his comparison of gay marriage to Dred Scott, which was utterly despicable. He was working the working class angle as he usually does, but it seemed like others had co-opted the message and done a better job with it. Like Perry he seemed a bit agitated, but unlike Perry, he didn't seem unhinged in his emotional reaction, and instead just seemed agitated the whole time.

For a guy who has energy and can relate, Chris Christie looked worn out, and answered almost like he was. I thought this would be the place for him to come out swinging, but it seemed like it was almost the opposite here. I liked his answer on drug rehabilitation, but I found it oddly conflicting with his stiff stance on pot, though I could understand it.