Will Slater Many students at Latin did not watch the second GOP debate. This disappoints me; as intellectual of a community Latin is, we did not take the time to watch such an important event. Of those I talked to who did watch the debate, I gathered a diverse set of opinions from students in varying grades. Despite the media’s distaste for Donald Trump and narrative that he has put forth, in addition to two poor (and at times offensive) performances in the debate, many Trump fans continue to be impressed by the entrepreneur. Sophomore Daniel Korach, a Republican, loves that “Trump is overcorrecting the field.” By this Korach means that in “being so far off the spectrum of political correctness,” Trump is a forcing other candidates who are very politically correct to be less so. Senior Mike Roberts knows that this is a ridiculous opinion, saying that the claim Trump and other non-career politicians are making, that they won’t “play politician,” lacks logic. Roberts claims that given the nature of American Democracy, these stances are not “feasible, because compromise is a skill that politicians need in our government.” Roberts concludes that these fringe candidates, should they be elected, will either break their promises and make compromises, or not do so and face intense gridlock. Junior Republican Reis Herman once supported Trump as well, but has since grown fond of Dr. Ben Carson. Once a long shot, the doctor is polling second behind Trump in most national polls. Herman likes that Carson is a change of pace from the other candidates, quite literally in his notoriously slow pattern of speech. When asked about concerns over Carson’s lack of experience and knowledge in foreign policy, Herman was confident in saying that Carson is intelligent and could learn all that he needs to know. I would only remind the reader of this – it is quite difficult to learn nuance, and foreign policy is fraught with complexities that a person who is new to the issue would struggle to understand. Following the debate, an analysis of various polls by RealClearPolitics shows Trump to be in a comfortable lead at 23.4%, with Carson in strong contention at 17%. Carly Fiorina has been surging since the debate, where many thought she was strong, confident and sharp. The only female candidate sits at 11.6%, followed by the steadily growing Floridian Marco Rubio. The aforementioned senior, Mike Roberts, an independent with leftist tendencies, thinks that Rubio is the best candidate in the field. Roberts doesn’t agree with some of Rubio’s stances, including his belief that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest. However, he likes that Rubio “gave straight answers and didn’t waste time attacking his opponents.” Clearly the bickering and lack of substance that has run rampant in this election frustrates Roberts, like many Americans. The final candidate of note is Jeb Bush. Bush was clearly on a mission to be more assertive in the second debate, and while he was, his numbers continue to flounder, sitting below Rubio at 9.2%. Seeing the fluidity of polls and the tendency for wild card candidates to gain mass popularity in the summer and early fall, many pundits remain confident that an establishment Republican will win. Luckily, with many debates to come and the Iowa Caucus not until February, Republican voters still have months to decide on a candidate. ]]>
