A very bad debate night for Jeb Bush

Propped up and prepped by his weekend group huddle and propaganda fest in Houston, Jeb Bush came into the debate Wednesday night well rehearsed to deliver their strategized take-down of Marco Rubio by attacking his attendance record in the senate.  Naturally, it sounded contrived and scripted; and Jeb delivered his lines with that smile/sneer that he does, conveying condescension and superiority: 

"Marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work. I mean, literally, the Senate — what is it, like a French work week? You get, like, three days where you have to show up? You can campaign, or just resign and let someone else take the job."

There !!   You can almost see Jeb brushing off his hands, as if to say, "OK.  I took care of it, like you said."

Not so fast.    Young Rubio is quick on his feet -- and well prepared.   Noting that Bush has been likening his own comeback campaign to Sen. John McCain's 2008 loss in Iowa, only to come back to win New Hampshire, Rubio then referred to how many senate sessions McCain had missed campaigning in 2008 and said:

"I don't remember you ever complaining about John McCain's vote record.  The only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position, and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.
     [pivot to face the audience]
"My campaign is going to be about the future of America, it's not going to be about attacking anyone else on this stage.  I will continue to have tremendous admiration and respect for Gov. Bush.  I'm not running against Gov. Bush.  I'm not running against anyone on this stage.  I'm running for President."

Bravo, Rubio !!  The audience applauded him -- not Bush.   Well done -- especially that neat pivot to the high road.

In a Politico snap poll, 59% said that Bush was the clear loser of the overall debate, while 0% called Rubio the loser and 45% picked him as the overall winner.   And here's what the wonks at PredictWise came up with as the betting odds on the nomination winner:

At 3:00 pm before the debate: 
           34%  Marco Rubio 
           18%  Jeb Bush 
           18%  Donald Trump
           10%  Ben Carson 

The morning after the debate:  10/29             A day later:  10/30
          43%  Marco Rubio                                             43%
          20%  Donald Trump                                          20%
            9%  Ben Carson                                                   9%
            9%  Jeb Bush                                                       8%
            8%  Ted Cruz                                                       8%
Bush dropped 9%;   Rubio picked up 9%.

Ralph
PS:  My glee at Jeb's come-uppance does not mean I want Rubio to be president.  In fact, he might be the most difficult one of the lot for the Democrats to beat in 2016.