What They're Saying About Chris Christie at the CNBC Debate in Boulder, Colorado. Part 3
“Christie Was Vivid And Forceful”
“Christie Came Prepared To Talk Entitlement Reform And Keep The Heat On Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton”
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Fox News’ Bret Baier: “I thought Christie had a really strong night as well and could see some bounce in the polls.”
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly: “I thought Christie was very articulate.”
The Washington Times’ Monica Crowley: “I have Rubio, Cruz, and Christie as the big winners.”
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: “Chris Christie had a good night, especially with his forthrightness on reforming entitlements. He put it in populist terms by explaining there is nothing in the trust funds but IOUs and that “the government has lied to you and stolen from you.”
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin: “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was a major figure in the debate, demonstrating his considerable stage presence. Early on he went after the Democrats with verve...He certainly looked like a grownup…Rubio and Christie overshadowed others, who did well but did not dominate.”
National Journal’s Alex Roarty: “Christie was a winner tonight”
University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato: “On Christie: Had ‘one of his best’ debate performances.”
Charles Krauthammer: “Christie surprisingly strong”
Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering: “Christie’s moment sparked wild cheers from the debate audience as he continued...Christie has shown a keen instinct about when to interrupt a pointless, tangled debate moment to thunder about the real issues...Debate audiences have reacted favorably to those moments, reminding moderators to keep the questions focused on the issues.”
The New York Times’ Frank Bruni: “Christie was vivid and forceful...”
Des Moines Register: “Christie also scored well, mainly by pummeling the moderators. After Bush was asked a question about regulating fantasy sports, Christie chimed in with incredulity.”
CNN’s Gloria Berger: “I thought it was a great moment for Chris Christie who said are you kidding me, right? We have serious problems.”
Steve Schmidt: “Very, very strong performance from Chris Christie tonight as well.”
Steve Schmidt: “You saw Chris Christie's star power unleashed. You saw why Chris Christie became a national phenomenon. I think Chris Christie did himself a lot of good tonight. I think that before this is over, Chris Christie is going to get a hard second look by a lot of these Republican primary voters, probably in the state of New Hampshire.”
Dallas Morning News: “Chris Christie — A-: Christie came prepared to talk entitlement reform and keep the heat on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He did, lambasting Obama’s Justice Department as hyper-partisan. He stayed much more in the camera’s lens than in the previous two debates.”
NPR: “Rubio, Cruz, Christie Improve Their Standing in Third GOP Debate”
WMUR: “NH Primary Source: Incredulous Over Fantasy Football Question, Christie Had Line Of Night”
The Weekly Standard’s Jonathan V. Last: “Christie was as impressive tonight as he could be, given his position. He had a great opening. His interjection on regulating fantasy football was tremendous.”
Creighton University Economic Ernie Goss: “Christie’s program to save Social Security is bold and makes a lot of economic sense.”
NBC News: “Last night's winners: Chris Christie: Like in last month's debate, Christie had a nice performance, despite not being at the center of attention like some of the other candidates.”
New Hampshire Republican Ken Hawkins: "Christie, Cruz and Rubio scored excellent points."
Newsmax: “Christie had another standout moment when he looked into the camera and commented that the government has been using Social Security funds to pay other obligations.”
Jim Bognet: “He is good in this setting: on point, self-assured, with a good sense of humor. He stayed strongly on message going after Hillary Clinton. I think he helped himself with a few strong answers framing the important debates should be about...He had a great answer on fantasy football question, rightly pointing out the trivial nature of the question. He followed that with a strong answer on energy, while calling out John Harwood for being rude."
Michael Dennehy: “Chris Christie: B+. Had a very good night. Fantasy football exchange was the best.”
Frank Luntz: “One of the most powerful moments, he encapsulated the frustration of the audience that was listening at the debate, and our focus group here in Iowa. What was so strong about that?”
Focus Group Voter: “Because it's true. There’s much bigger issues to be talked about than fantasy football.”
Focus Group Voter: “I feel like it was the moment for me that I just went, ‘This is a clown show. It's just a complete mess and we’re just talking about issues that are completely ridiculous.’”
Focus Group Voter:“Christie was a complete pit bull. He took the reigns, he said, ‘You know what, enough is enough, this is childish, let’s talk about real issues.’”
Focus Group Voter: “Yes I agree. I think he called a spade a spade.”
Focus Group Voter: “Once again, he’s nailing the true issues that we think are important.”
