Yee-haw! It’s time for another Republican presidential debate, the second-to-last before the Iowa caucuses. Can you even contain your excitement? The big story of this debate will be the dynamics of the race in the final push before voting actually begins: Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have been kicked down to the kiddie table debate, with Paul saying he won’t show up; Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are finally going after each other on the campaign trail, with moderators doubtless hoping to draw them into a fight onstage at the debate; and Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Chris Christie are all trying to climb over one another to emerge as the establishment candidate.
Rubio in particular is likely to draw fire as a guy who seems to be treading water in the polls, neither gaining real traction nor falling in the manner of Ben Carson. So far he hasn’t been effectively challenged in debates, with both moderators and opponents letting him fall back on his talking points rather than having to offer up anything new and substantive.
When it comes to how the debate plays out as a debate, the Fox Business Network moderators—who are on their second debate of the season—are promising that this time they’ll get tough:
"Last time we let it breathe in terms of making sure the candidates talked to each other and had an open dialogue,” said Bartiromo, adding that their goal was to make sure they heard each candidate’s plan.
This time around though, Bartiromo said she and Cavuto will be better prepared with a stricter list of “must ask” questions.
One thing to watch for: will Bartiromo and Cavuto be tough on all the candidates, or just the ones Fox News has decided are bad for the Republican Party? Another thing to watch for is if they can handle Ted Cruz and his so-far successful strategy for getting more than his share of debating time by not answering questions the first time they’re asked so that he gets follow-up questions, and the opportunity to filibuster. The moderators are promising to go deep on the issues, but I’m guessing it’ll be all about the candidates, their outsized personalities, and their specific rivalries.