CNN Debate at the Reagan Library--Post-Debate 1                                     Wednesday, September 16, 2015

What They’re Saying About The Debate Last Night: It Was “The Lindsey Graham Show”

“The Lindsey Graham Show Turned Up In Simi Valley, California, During Tonight's CNN Republican Presidential Debate.”  (Manu Raju, “Lindsey Graham Shines At Undercard Debate,” CNN, 09/17/15)

“A Fiery, Breakout Debate Performance” “Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday night called Syria “hell on Earth” in a fiery, breakout debate performance in which he touted his military experience.”  (Staff, “Graham Vows To End Syrian 'Hell' In Energetic Debate Performance,” FOX News, 09/16/15)

“Lindsey Graham Had A Very Good Night...Made The Most Of His Opportunity To Snag A Lot Of Air Time”  “Lindsey Graham had a very good night. The foreign-policy subject matter of Wednesday night’s early debate played to the senator’s strengths. Whether he was using humor or talking tough about terrorism, Mr. Graham made the most of his opportunity to snag a lot of air time as one of only four on stage for CNN’s early debate.”  (Linda Killan, In CNN’s Early Debate, a Good Performance From Lindsey Graham, Wall Street Journal, 09/17/15)

“It Was Vintage Lindsey Graham: Pragmatic And Level-Headed, Refusing To Pander, Wisecracking His Way To The Next Political Fight.” (Zeke Miller & Philip Elliott, “How Lindsey Graham Dominated The Undercard Debate,” TIME, 09/16/15)

Graham “Looked Like A Winner” In The Debate On Wednesday “U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of Seneca looked like a winner in the two GOP debates Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif…” (Staff, “Graham channels inner comedian at second presidential debate,” The State, 09/17/15)

Graham Was The “One Clear Victor” Of The Early Debate “While the leading 2016 Republican presidential candidates take their podiums, there is already one clear victor from the earlier ‘undercard’ primary debate…South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham... tonight his jokes hit high notes, earning him applause and laughs that have many calling him that debate’s obvious winner. Indeed, according to Google, Graham was the most searched candidates from the early debate.” (Ali Dukakis, “Why Lindsey Graham Is Trending After His Debate,” ABC News, 09/16/15)

Graham Was A “Voice Of Reason” On The Stage “And when the topic was closer to home, Mr. Graham sounded like the voice of reason after Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal talked about ineffectual congressional Republicans and defunding Planned Parenthood.”  (Linda Killan, In CNN’s Early Debate, a Good Performance From Lindsey Graham, Wall Street Journal, 09/17/15)

Post & Courier’s ‘Palmetto Sunrise’: Lindsey Graham Shines In Debate (Cynthia Roldan, “Palmetto Sunrise: Lindsey Graham Shines in Debate,” Post & Courier, 09/17/15)

“Graham Spent Much Of The Night Hammering His Foreign Policy Experience”

“Graham Spent Much Of The Night Hammering His Foreign Policy Experience” “Graham spent much of the night hammering his foreign policy experience.  He touted frequently how he has traveled 35 times to Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of that, he kept repeating his worries that ISIS needs to be stopped before another Sept. 11-style terrorist attack…”  (Staff, “Graham channels inner comedian at second presidential debate,” The State, 09/17/15)

Graham Promoted “Himself As A Would-Be Warrior Commander-In-Chief Who Would Confront And Defeat Radical Islam”  “He let loose one-liners while promoting himself as a would-be warrior commander-in-chief who would confront and defeat radical Islam, and lambasting Barack Obama as a ‘weak, unqualified commander’ who mishandled Syria.”  (Rory Carroll and Ben Jacobs, “Lindsey Graham takes the limelight in first-round Republican debate,” The Guardian, 09/16/15)

On ISIL, ‘We’re Gonna Kill Every One Of These Bastards We Can Find’ Graham also laid out his desire to fight the Islamic State extremist group in the most colorful language used in the debate so far. ‘We’re gonna kill every one of these bastards we can find,’ he said.”  (David Fahrenthold, “Lindsey Graham Tops The Undercard Debate, But Donald Trump Dominates,” Washington Post, 09/16/15)

FOX News: Graham Vows To End Syrian 'Hell' In Energetic Debate Performance  (Staff, “Graham Vows To End Syrian 'Hell' In Energetic Debate Performance,” FOX News, 09/16/15)

Graham Took Democratic Front-Runner Hillary Clinton To Task On Her Failure To Act On Benghazi.  “Graham also trashed Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton in eyebrow-raising terms.  ‘Where the hell were you’ during the Benghazi, Libya, attacks, Graham fumed when he was asked about his past praise for Clinton.”  (Manu Raju, “Lindsey Graham Shines At Undercard Debate,” CNN, 09/17/15)

“Graham Compared His Commitment To Fighting Radical Islamic Terrorism To Reagan’s Dedication To Defeating The Soviet Union, Or As Reagan Dubbed It, The Evil Empire” “Graham compared his commitment to fighting radical Islamic terrorism to Reagan’s dedication to defeating the Soviet Union, or as Reagan dubbed it, the Evil Empire. ‘I’m running for president to destroy radical Islam, to win the war on terror, to protect you and your family,’ he continued. ‘And in that quest, I have an uncompromising determination to win this war, just like President Reagan had an uncompromising determination to destroy the Evil Empire and win the Cold War.’”  (Michael Walsh, “At Reagan library, Republican presidential hopefuls vie to be the most Reaganesque,” Yahoo!, 09/16/15)

Jindal wins debate, neutered Republican establishment

"In tonight’s debate, Governor Jindal neutered the Republican establishment in D.C.