Let’s be clear: most of the audience of this debate doesn’t know enough about the complicated politics of the Middle East and Russia to assess the actual policies the candidates are pushing. Rather, this whole debate is a posturing contest. Who can sound the toughest and most confident without telling a lie so blatant that the CNN moderators will call them out (pretty damn blatant, in other words)? Who can get the better of their opponents on appearance of toughness and knowledge, not the reality of the same?