 After weeks of preparing for a smash-mouth debate with Donald J. Trump, 14 Republican candidates found themselves instead Trump-less but sandwiched into a constricting format on Monday night, delivering strikingly uneven performances just days before the first big test of the presidential primary contest. “The fact that [New York Times columnist] Paul Krugman disagrees with me warms my heart,” Bush said. Scott Walker touted himself as a proven leader, based in part on winning three elections in four years. “I did it by taking bold actions and we got results because of it. John Kasich of Ohio), their military service (Mr. Graham) and their middle-class roots (Carly Fiorina.) Three of the four senators running for president appeared live via satellite from Washington, where they were stuck voting on whether the Senate should take up a bill that would block funding for Planned Parenthood. Chris Christie, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Gov. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio Marco RubioIvanka Trump weighs in on awkward hug with Rubio: ‘Fake news’ Rubio, Ivanka Trump joke about their 'alleged failed hug' GOP senators pleased with Ivanka Trump meeting on family leave, child tax credits MORE and Ted Cruz Ted CruzGOP hits the gas on ObamaCare repeal Trio of conservative Republicans rip Senate healthcare process The Hill's 12:30 Report MORE, were cabled in from Washington, where they stayed to cast votes to defund Planned Parenthood just hours before. Lindsey Graham, who is flat-lining in the polls, took aim at Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness by bringing up the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He, along with other current and past governors, boasted of gubernatorial successes.Walker said steps to protect the environment need to be balanced with economic concerns.“It’d be like a buzz saw to America’s economy,” he said of President Barack Obama’s clean power policies.“I think we’ve let our guard down a little bit,” Bush responded, when asked if the U.S. is doing enough to prevent another terrorist attack.N.J. “I think it’s important to be in New Hampshire,” said Kasich, who is currently polling in 10th place and stands to be the last candidate to make the cut for Thursday night’s main event. They criticized the Iran nuclear deal, funding for Planned Parenthood, and the Affordable Care Act.“Obamacare has been a manifest disaster,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said.Former Florida Gov. “I’m a new, fresh face,” he said.“I’m a different kind of Republican,” said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, calling himself a constitutional conservative who would do what it takes to defend the nation and protect liberties.Dr. Trump, who exemplifies better than any candidate how national stature and celebrity increasingly outweigh a candidate’s willingness to work the early states for every vote, blew off Monday night’s forum. Well-intentioned, but a failure,” Christie said.Cruz called the Iran nuclear deal a “catastrophic deal,” which would flow money into Iran, and on to terrorist organizations.Christie, Pataki and Walker pointed to accomplishments they have made while working in “blue states.”The first-in-the-nation primary event — the first of its kind during an election season with a slew of big-name candidates — aimed at giving all of the major candidates prime-time exposure.The New Hampshire Union Leader, a co-sponsor, first announced the forum following the Fox News decision that its debate criteria for the first televised debate Thursday would be limited to the top 10 candidates based on national polls.The two-hour forum was live on C-SPAN, and broadcast in New Hampshire on WMUR, NH1, NECN, WGIR and NHPR.
– Last night, 14 Republicans running for president joined a forum in Manchester, NH, with two major differences from the upcoming official debate on Fox News on Thursday: no requirement to be in the pollsters' top 10, and no Donald Trump. Instead of debating each other, the candidates took two turns speaking over two hours, and delivered what the New York Times calls "strikingly uneven performances" in which they focused their attacks on President Obama and Hillary Clinton instead of their fellow Republicans. Trump said he didn't have time to attend the event, though Politico reports that he offered to attend if the Union Leader, which sponsored the "Voters First Forum," gave him its endorsement. Sens. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul took part via telecast, having stayed in Washington for the Planned Parenthood vote. Mike Huckabee and Jim Gilmore, the 17th candidate, were absent. Some highlights from the forum: Carly Fiorina insisted she was the Republican best able to take on Clinton, saying the party needs a nominee "who is going to throw every punch." In what Politico sees as a sign of desperation from the candidate at the bottom of the polls, Sen. Lindsey Graham brought up the Lewinsky scandal. "I'm fluent in Clinton-speak," he said. "When Bill says I didn't have sex with that woman—he did." Rick Perry got plenty of laughs when he was asked what federal agencies he would cut, which the Times notes is the same question that probably doomed his 2012 campaign. "I've heard this question before," Perry quipped. Cruz turned in one of the better performances and was his usual "firebrand self," according to the Hill. If the Iran "deal goes through, the Obama administration will become the leading global financier of radical Islamic terrorism," he said. Chris Christie, who may not make the final cut on Thursday, said, "Jack, you saying I'm washed up?" when moderator Jack Heath asked the NJ governor if he would have had a better chance in 2012, per the Times.