Joining today's show are Mike Barnicle, Nicolle Wallace, Mark Halperin, Kasie Hunt, John Heilemann, Ron Fournier, Fmr. Gov. Jeb Bush, Reince Priebus, Chuck Todd, Mark McKinnon, Katy Tur, Carly Fiorina, Brian Sullivan, Sen. Lindsey Graham and in Taiji, Japan today, they just ended our live stream. And, 8-10 Rissos spent 5 1/2 hours being driven into the cove. ALL slaughtered in a matter of minutes. Tonight we reflect on the loss of these Dolphins. Please consider going to DolphinProject.net and take the pledge to never go to a dolphins show. 2015-12-16 3:40pm.
As for the debate last night, I had the Grammy Holiday Party so I saw a bunch late night before I fell asleep. I also saw the commentary afterward and the interviews with everyone after it. Here is how Mark Halperin grades the GOP debate.
And, when Jeb Bush went after Donald trump, Trump replied like he only can which is to insult him (Jeb Bush). You can tell that Jeb got to him for one of the first times ever.
Cruz, Rubio battle while Trump pledges GOP loyalty at debate. The simmering rivalry between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz spilled into the open Tuesday night during the final Republican presidential debate of the year, as the two senators tussled over a string of issues that served to highlight front-runner Donald Trump's discomfort with policy substance.
We heard a lot of talk about "carpet bombing" cities, sending our men and women into another endless war, and completely closing our borders to women and children who have lost everything but the shirts on their backs.
In short, it was a debate designed to scare you into voting for candidates who want you to forget what this election should be about.
It’s about keeping our families safe, it’s about fixing an immigration system to unite families, restoring our broken economy, and taking back our democracy from the billionaire class.
I would also say that everything we have heard from Republicans makes you feel like supporting a Democrat right now. Which BTW, poll after poll shows that Bernie (Sanders) and Hillary (Clinton) does better against any Republican candidates.
Oh and also, I forgot but we heard them mention Hillary as if she was currently the POTUS or in her old position as the secretary of State. They would use Hillary's name in the same breathe as Obama's name which I found to be telling.
CNN's two-hour prime-time event here was dominated by national security and terrorism in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.
But Trump, who has fueled intense controversy by proposing a ban on Muslims entering the United States, often faded into the background. He even struck an uncharacteristically conciliatory tone by pledging his commitment to the Republican Party -- putting to rest rumors of an independent run -- and holding his punches from the surging Cruz.
There was no one on stage more eager to hit Trump than Jeb Bush. With his campaign floundering as his poll numbers have dropped to the low single-digits, Bush asserted himself more effectively than in previous debates. Right out of the gate, the two men exchanged tense words on Trump's plan Muslim ban proposal, as well as the real estate developer's recent vow to go after family members of ISIS terrorists.
The latter, Bush said, was "another example of (Trump's) lack of seriousness."
Trump, visibly annoyed, mouthed: "Give me a break." He delivered his usual attack line on the ex-governor: that he is simply too nice.
"I think Jeb is a very nice person, very nice person," Trump said. "But we need toughness."
When Bush interjected, Trump taunted: "You're trying to build up your energy but it's not working."
Bush shot back: "Donald, you're not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency."
Digging deep on policy
In stark contrast to Trump and Bush's open personal hostiliy -- which at times seemed petty against the backdrop of weighty issues like terrorism -- Rubio and Cruz dug deep on policy.
The long-simmering feud between the two men has intensified as they've risen in the polls and the senators have sought to seize the second-place spot after Trump. Cruz has attempted to straddle the line between presenting himself as an outsider and making the case that he can be commander-in-chief. Rubio has tried to blunt Cruz's rise by attacking his national security policy as too isolationist -- a potent attack at a time when national security is dominating the campaign.
The two senators struck vastly different tones on issues including the National Security Agency's surveillance program, immigration reform and how the United States should respond to dictators in the Middle East. Rubio blasted Cruz for voting for the USA Freedom Act, which made it more difficult for the government to access certain kinds of information about people's telephone records.
Gov. Jeb Bush: Trump's rhetoric is 'dog whistle talk' 02:40
"Here's the world we live in. This is a radical jihadist group that is increasingly sophisticated," said Rubio, who voted against the act. "We are at a time when we need more tools, not less tools."
Cruz called Rubio's accusation false, and said the law ultimately "strengthened the tools of national security and law enforcement to go after" terrorists.
He also hit Rubio on one of his biggest political vulnerabilities: his work on the "Gang of Eight" comprehensive immigration reform bill. Calling the legislation a "massive amnesty plan," Cruz accused Rubio of working with Democrats to give President Barack Obama a "blanket authority" to accept refugees.
"He was fighting to grant amnesty and not to secure the border. I was fighting to secure the border," Cruz said.
Rubio hit back, saying Cruz supports the legalization of people who are in the country illegally. He also slammed his colleague for supporting a controversial H-1B visa program, which supports immigration of highly skilled foreign workers.
Cruz and Rubio were also split on whether the turmoil in the Middle East would ease if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was removed from power.
"If we topple Assad, the result will be ISIS will take over Syria and it will worsen U.S. national security interests," Cruz said.
Rubio rejected this notion, saying while the United States must sometimes work with "less than ideal governments," Assad was simply an "anti-American dictator."
High stakes after terror attacks
Heading into Tuesday's debate, the stakes were higher than ever for the White House hopefuls.
The Iowa caucuses are just seven weeks away and ISIS-inspired terror attacks have shifted the dynamics of the 2016 campaign. The anxiety was evident on Tuesday when public schools in Los Angeles took the unprecedented step of closing in response to what the superintendent called a "rare" threat.
Trump remains the undisputed national GOP presidential front-runner. A Monmouth University poll on Monday placed him at 41%, the first time he's cracked the 40% threshold in a national survey. A poll from The Washington Post and ABC News conducted entirely after Trump proposed the Muslim ban found support for Trump at 38% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents -- up six percentage points from a Post/ABC poll in mid-November.
Trump does, however, face a real threat from Cruz in Iowa. Recent polls showed the senator either neck-and-neck with or ahead of Trump in the state.
On Tuesday night, Cruz continued to show little appetite for publicly engaging Trump. Asked to respond to Trump's Muslim ban proposal, the Texas senator said he could certainly "understand why Donald made that proposal."
Criticism from underdogs
Trump was the target of plenty of criticism during the earlier so-called "undercard" debate. Four lower-polling White House hopefuls kicked off the evening by raising alarm about the threat of radical Islam -- and went after Trump for the Muslim proposal.
"You may think this makes us safe, but it doesn't," said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's most vocal critics. "Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do -- declare war on Islam itself."
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said it's "not the right proposal."
But Santorum blasted a culture of political correctness that he faults for blunting debate over the role of Muslims in society.
"Not all Muslims are jihadists," he said. "All jihadists are Muslim."
Santorum and Graham -- who dominated the discussion -- were joined by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New York Gov. George Pataki. All four are at risk of being next on the chopping block if they're unable to gain real momentum soon.
The panel (Joe in particular) feels like that Ted Cruz and Donald trump had a secret pact to not go after each other but to go after the other candidates. That way they waltz into next year at the top of that pack. But Halpern's grades reflect what i saw because again, they all seemed to come off equally if every analyst thought another candidate did the best last night.
BTW, did you know how big Marco Rubio's ears are on his head. They are huge. I had no clue till last night.
Lindsey Graham's best lines from CNN's undercard debate. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham might be trailing badly in the polls, but as he's done in debates past, his one-liners during CNN's undercard Republican debate Tuesday have made him a crowd favorite in the room in Vegas and across social media.
Here's a roundup of his best lines so far:
"I'm tired of beating on Bush. I miss George W Bush! I wish he were president right now!"
On the Obama presidency
Sen. Lindsey Graham: 'I miss George W. Bush' 00:47
"Ted, getting in bed with Iran and Russia to save Assad is inconceivable. Princess Buttercup would not like this."
On Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's foreign policy and love for "The Princess Bride"
"As for women, if you want to kill terrorists -- I'm your guy."
On women serving in combat positions
"Sequestration is Latin for doing really dumb things!"
On mandatory budget cuts
"To all of our Muslim friends throughout the world like the king of Jordan and the president of Egypt, I am sorry. He does not represent us."
On Donald Trump
Graham apologizes for Donald Trump's stance on Islam
"Mr. Trump, you don't have to speak about everything. It's not required."
"ISIL would be dancing in the streets, they just don't believe in dancing."
On Trump's would-be victory in 2016
"To the isolationists in our party, you are no better than Obama."
To Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul
"Rick, there's nobody left to train in Syria. There must be American boots on the ground in Syria to win -- if you don't understand that, you're not fit to be commander in chief."
To fellow undercard debater former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
"I'm not afraid of a guy running around on a horse without a shirt."
On Russian President Vladimir Putin
"You are not the enemy. Your religion is not the enemy ... Leave the faith alone, go after the radicals that want to kill us all."
To Muslims
"We're at war, folks. They're not trying to steal your car. They're trying to kill us all."
To Americans
"They're ready to die. Bring on the virgins."
About ISIS
The Winners and the Losers by CNN's Jeremy Diamond:
Republican presidential candidates sought to cement -- or improve -- their standings in a debate Tuesday night that comes less than two months before the first votes of the election season are cast.
The CNN debate in Las Vegas marked the first time the White House hopefuls shared a stage since terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. They flashed their foreign policy credentials and targeted each others' weaknesses in the debate that lasted more than two hours and focused exclusively on foreign policy and national security.
The result of the showdown: Some winners, and some losers.
Winners
Jeb Bush
The former Florida governor walked onto the CNN debate stage on Tuesday facing a make-or-break moment for his struggling campaign.
Polling at about 3% nationally, pundits had low expectations for Bush. But he was able to make the most of the moment and his performance will likely reassure skittish donors and supporters who have doubted him.
Appearing confident, Bush repeatedly engaged front-runner Donald Trump and at times flustered the real estate mogul. Unlike previous debates where he has backed off, Bush didn't relent in the face of Trump's return fire.
Gov. Jeb Bush: Trump's rhetoric is 'dog whistle talk' 02:40
"If you think this is tough and you're not being treated fairly, imagine what it's going to be like dealing with Putin or dealing with President Xi or dealing with the Islamic terrorism that exists," Bush said over Trump's persistent interruptions.
CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish said after the debate that Bush "turned in a strong performance" with his ability to repeatedly needle Trump.
"Jeb had a good night," he said.
Ted Cruz
The tea party favorite avoided a cage match with front-runner Donald Trump in favor of a sparring match with Rubio.
Cruz and Trump have largely avoided skirmishes on the campaign trail but that ended in recent days as the Texas senator's standing improves in Iowa.
Former Mitt Romney aide and current CNN political commentator Kevin Madden said Cruz's strategy of avoiding confrontation on the debate stage was effective.
"I think the strategy Cruz has is working, bear hugging Donald Trump. I think Donald Trump does not feel antagonized," he said.
While Cruz didn't give viewers anything like the fiery and memorable soundbites his supporters savored in the last debate, the Texas senator gave a strong performance sure to please his base. And by taking aim at -- and holding his ground against -- Rubio, Cruz did nothing to stall his burgeoning momentum.
Marco Rubio
Sen. Marco Rubio delivered a front-runner's performance, as he parried blows from all sides in the crowded field.
Rubio worked to stay above the fray of candidates, focusing on showing off his in-depth understanding of foreign policy and deflecting the attacks his competitors hurled his way. The Florida senator, though engaged in heated exchanges with Cruz and Rand Paul at times, mostly sought to flex his hawkish national security positions rather than attack his competitors.
Marco Rubio attacks Ted Cruz's voting record
Marco Rubio attacks Ted Cruz's voting record 02:38
When prompted to address Trump's proposal to bar foreign Muslims from entering the U.S. -- which Rubio opposes -- or to address his recent criticism of Cruz, Rubio didn't bite. Instead, the Florida senator used the opportunity to speak at length about foreign policy concerns and his own proposals -- or to attacking President Barack Obama's administration.
Donald Trump
As the real estate mogul has done in recent debates, Donald Trump offered a measured performance stylistically different from the fiery stump speeches he delivers at rallies to supporters. And the typically confrontational businessman largely avoided tangling with his fellow contenders.
It was a safe performance for Trump, but it's one that certainly won't deter his supporters and won't do anything to hurt his front-runner status.
Donald Trump commits to the Republican Party
Donald Trump commits to the Republican Party 01:08
CNN political commentator David Axelrod, a former top Obama adviser, said that while Trump didn't meet the bar on facts and "linear thinking," he was "in character."
"I think he probably did what he needed to do," Axelrod said, adding that it didn't hurt that few of the candidates to Trump's right and left were "eager to tangle" with the front-runner.
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's goal on Tuesday was to try and further his recent rise in stock in the early primary state of New Hampshire, where talk of national security has boosted the former federal prosecutor.
Christie managed to poke at the three senators in the race by lamenting the tit-for-tat debates Cruz, Rubio and Paul engaged in. The governor continued to play to his executive experience and his prosecutions of terrorism cases as a U.S. attorney.
In one of his strongest moments, Christie slammed the senators on stage as "people who've never had to make a consequential decision in an executive position" and proclaimed that voters were looking for "a president who actually knows what they're doing."
CNN political commentator Jeffrey Lord, a Trump supporter, noted that like Trump, Christie "was delivering a message" on stage rather than getting too "in the weeds" on policy.
Losers
Ben Carson
Ben Carson said it himself on Tuesday heading into the last debate of the year: He needed to prove his national security credentials to reassure voters fleeing his campaign amid rising concerns over terrorism.
But the retired neurosurgeon faltered on that front -- offering little in the way of assuaging those concerns, which are believed to have contributed to Carson's fall from his position near the top of the polls in Iowa and nationally.
Instead, Carson offered vague and meandering responses to specific foreign policy questions, complained about the time allotted to him and declined when asked whether he sided with Cruz or Rubio in the debate over National Security Agency data collection.
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina still looked and sounded like a top debater on stage Tuesday night, but a closer look shows that the former Hewlett-Packard CEO is offering little to voters that they haven't already heard.
In short, Fiorina's shtick is getting old.
And several of Fiorina's attempts to elbow her way into the debate as other candidates were speaking -- a tactic that has worked for her in the past -- didn't help her during this performance.
Her strongest moments, though, came when she touted her experience as a tech executive as a way to highlight the need for the private sector to boost the federal government's counter-terrorism efforts.
John Kasich
Kasich faced a similar problem as Fiorina -- he didn't offer anything new that would jumpstart his candidacy.
Kasich tried his best once again to play the role of the adult in the room, calling out Trump for unserious proposals and questioning other candidates' assessment of the situation in Syria, for example.
But Kasich failed to snag himself a moment.
Rand Paul
The libertarian senator from Kentucky showed he was in a fighting mood from the outset: jabbing at Trump and Rubio in his opening statement
Unfortunately for Paul, nobody wanted to tangle with him.
Rand Paul questions Donald Trump's candidacy
Rand Paul questions Donald Trump's candidacy 01:31
Even Trump -- who rarely resists an opportunity to needle his competitors -- didn't take the bait when Paul hit him at several points in the debate.
"Marco can't have it both ways," Paul said, attacking Rubio on immigration. "He wants to be this I'm great and strong on national defense, but he's the weakest of all the candidates on immigration."
But Rubio didn't hit back, simply thanking Paul for giving him another 30 seconds of talking time -- afforded to any candidate called out by one of his opponents -- and using it to lay out his position.
While Paul made his case against the neoconservative ideology coursing through the arteries of the Republican Party, he was effectively shut out by the overwhelming opposition to his foreign policy views present on stage.
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