Republican Debate Review: Trump Booed, Carson Muted, But Still Lots Of Yelling

Tuesday night’s primetime Republican debate, brought to you by the Fox Business Network and The Wall Street Journal, was a spirited — sometimes acrimonious, sometimes frivolous — exchange between eight candidates on a Milwaukee stage. Unlike last month’s CNBC wild spree of moderator self-absorption, Tuesday’s inquisitors (Maria Bartiromo, Neil Cavuto, and Gerard Baker) rolled out their questions fairly crisply. Marco Rubio had one of the most Internet-jeered soundbites of the night: “Well, that’s a great question, and let me begin by answering it.” This was a throat-clearing worthy of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s veep Selina Meyer — and @OfficialJLD knew it, tweeting that quote and adding, “Awesome stuff.” But with each succeeding debate, the strenuous effort of anyone not named Trump or Carson to break through — in the debate, in the polls, in pop culture — has become more aggressive. On this night, John Kasich was fearless about winning the Most Rude award, repeatedly inserting himself into questions directed at others.