Carly Fiorina ‘wins’ Undercard GOP debate: ‘poised and confident’
The former head of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina may have been the only woman on stage at the “Undercard” GOP debate on Thursday night, but she may have also come away with a big victory.
The Washington Post says “She was also the only one of the seven candidates who made clear that she deserves more attention — and a more prime spot in the debates — as the campaign continues…”
“The highest calling of leadership is to challenge the status quo and unlock the potential of others. We need a leader who will lead the resurgence of this great nation and unlock its potential once again,” was her close, which is being widely quoted.
“2016 is going to be a fight. A fight between conservatism and a Democrat Party that is undermining the very character of our nation,” she said. “We need a nominee who is going to throw every punch, not pull punches, someone who cannot stumble before he even gets in the ring.”
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Described as “poised and confident,” by the Post, Fiorina followed Texas Gov. Rick Perry with clear and fluid responses.
“Carly Fiorina’s crushing it so far, based on Google search traffic. http://53eig.ht/1Nd5wpV” – tweeted Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com,
The graph offered by Silver’s tweet ranked the candidates as Fiorina (73), followed by Bobby Jindal (50), Graham (44), Santorum (32) and Perry (25).
Jim Gilmore and George Pataki were not listed on the list.
Fiorina was making headlines for leaving some notes on the hotel printer after making copies. This made the news after Sergio Gor, a spokesman for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who will be appearing in the primetime debate later on Thursday, tweeted out the photo. More here.
Slate on Fiorina — “it wasn’t even close”:
She had the first zinger of the night when she turned a question about Donald Trump around by asking if anyone else had gotten a call from Bill Clinton before running—a reference to the real estate baron’s ties to the Clinton family and the recent revelation that Clinton may have encouraged Trump to run. “I didn’t get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race. Did any of you get a phone call from Bill Clinton? I didn’t.”
Fiorina was the first to invoke her close relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (“my good friend Bibi Netanyahu”) and said she’d call the Supreme Leader of Iran to scotch the Iran deal. “Yes, our allies are not perfect, but Iran is at the heart of most of the evil,” said Fiorina. Where other candidates cast about, Fiorina was steady and confident. At one point, even former New York Gov. George Pataki seemed to suggest she was the right person for the job.
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