We begin today's roundup with
The New York Times and its take on the Republican debates this week:
Peel back the boasting and insults, the lies and exaggerations common to any presidential campaign. What remains is a collection of assertions so untrue, so bizarre, that they form a vision as surreal as the Ronald Reagan jet looming behind the candidates’ lecterns.
It felt at times as if the speakers were no longer living in a fact-based world where actions have consequences, programs take money and money has to come from somewhere. Where basic laws — like physics and the Constitution — constrain wishes. Where Congress and the public, allies and enemies, markets and militaries don’t just do what you want them to, just because you say they will.
The Washington Post's
Catherine Rampell:
To the great disappointment of econo-nerds everywhere, the economy was almost entirely ignored during Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate. Over the course of three hours, the moderators and debaters found time for but a few minutes of discussion on the economy, most of that on the minimum wage.
[...] There’s actually a good reason why Republican candidates might want to avoid talking about the economy, both in televised debates and on the campaign trail more broadly. That’s because it’s hard to run against the economy these days, at least given the numbers.
More on the day's top stories below the fold.
Jay Booman at The Atlanta Journal Constitution looks at Carly Fiorina's Planned Parenthood attack -- which was completely false, and says even under a best case scenario, she's wrong:
In her defense, it is plausible that Fiorina honestly misunderstood what she was seeing. I say plausible because the CMP tape is artfully edited, on purpose, to create just that kind of misunderstanding. In fact, that’s exactly what critics of the CMP guerrilla operation have been saying about it all along — that its tapes were edited and doctored to create a false impression.
Viewed honestly, Fiorina’s false testimony in the debate Wednesday night about what she thought she saw — but did not see — becomes proof that the critics have been right. She fell for it too. And given the attention that her remarks received, she or her campaign have the responsibility to acknowledge that she was deceived. (She also made repeated claims of criminal behavior against Planned Parenthood, but despite repeated investigations no criminal charges have been filed or are likely to be filed, let alone proved. Because again, the tapes do not show what their champions claim they show.)
Eugene Robinson at The Washington Post:
Sorry, Republicans, but it’s still Donald Trump’s world. And sorry, Donald, but now you have to share it with Ben Carson.
The conventional wisdom seems to be that Carly Fiorina won herself a big patch of political territory in Wednesday night’s marathon 11-candidate debate on CNN. But the conventionally wise have been consistently wrong about this campaign, and I wonder if voters were equally impressed with her performance
Dean Obeidallah at The Daily Beast:
Donald Trump gave us a profile in cowardice on Thursday night, remaining silent as one of his supporters served up a big heaping of vile anti-Muslim comments at a packed New Hampshire campaign event.
[...] And now Trump is “palling around” with anti-Muslim bigots. To be honest, I’m surprised that he waited this long to embrace anti-Muslim hate. After all, 66 percent of his supporters think Obama is Muslim. Plus, we Muslims are an easy target, given that we are a small community. Sure, Bobby Jindal said crazy stuff a few months ago about Muslims wanting to impose “no-go zones” where Islamic law rules, but no one cares what a guy trailing the margin of error in polls has to say.
[...] That Trump and others in the GOP are stoking the flames of hate against Muslims is nothing new. What is surprising is Trump’s lack of leadership and courage to counter a bigot who was standing just a few feet away. Is this really the character of the person who will “make America great again”?