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Over the last couple of days there have been two Presidential debates in America. The Republicans met for the fourth time in Wisconsin on the 10th, while the Democrats met yesterday for the second time in Iowa. Both of the debates were significantly different from the ones they previously had, and it was interesting to see how the dynamics change. But at the end of the day, there are always winners and losers, and we were there to see it. Here is what happened:





In the Republican debate, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz stood out. For Rubio it was the second consecutive debate in which he performed really well, gave clear policy answers and had smart comebacks for those attacking him. His chances look better and better everyday, and there is no an indication that he was able to keep his momentum going on from the strong debate performances on his campaign stops. He is rising in the polls and is getting more and more donations. Rubio is still coming from behind, but it looks he could be the ultimate winner.





One man to stop him? Ted Cruz. The Texas senator also had a very good debate night, in fact he didn't really have a bad one so far. And as there are signs that Ben Carson and Donald Trump are failing, and with Fiorina practically gone, Ted Cruz could be that mainstream outsider (weird paradox, but true) who will be able to unite all the anger of the people against Washington behind him. Cruz is not only rising in Texas, but also nationwide. We expect a good fight between those two.





Jeb Bush had his best debate performance yet, but he still wasn't amazing. But it should be enough to stop his downward spiral, and join Rubio and Cruz in the last rounds of this race. He has got the money, the name recognition and the establishment support more or less. No one should think he is quitting, and if you do, then you should quit talking about politics. He is still the most likely candidate in the end.





Trump, Carson and Fiorina had a largely quiet night. They didn't really mess up, but couldn't really shine either. But they were still popular. Paul also had a great night, he was the most energetic to date so far, and received some cheers from the crowd. Kasich though had a bad night. He looked like a grumpy old man, who kept interrupting everyone. It looks like he just lost his patience. It looked weird. We don't know why many people think that he might be in this till the end. But surprise us.





But at least the moderators did a great job. They acted like real journalists. We applaud them for that. Shame on you CNCBC. Someone should fine or fire them. Honestly.





Now, the Democratic Debate.





Martin O'Malley had a great night. He had some great answers and the crowd liked him too. He took on Hillary and for the most part won or at least did ok. He should surely get a bump in his poll numbers and fundraising, but it is unclear what that will be enough for. But he still has a chance, and no one should take that away from him. He gives Hillary a run for her money.





Bernie Sanders had an ok night. There were times when he did really well, and there were times when he could have been clearer. But he did well enough, and most importantly highlighted some of Hillary's biggest real troubles. Not that the email thing is not important enough. It is. But Clinton completely failed on Wall Street and the economy last night. It was surprising to be honest. Everyone expected her to do better.





It will be interesting to see if the polls show these performances. If so, then Sanders should be back in shooting distance of Clinton to make a change. Especially in Iowa. The General Election is less than a year away now, and Iowa and New Hampshire are right around the corner, especially with December being a typically empty month in terms of Presidential campaigns.

This is an original material of Finchley 1959.