Los Angeles Times :
The target on Marco Rubio’s back grew larger Saturday, as rivals candidates, starting with Chris Christie, sought to turn the Florida senator’s polish into a liability in a critical debate on the eve of New Hampshire’s leadoff presidential primary.
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush sought anew to take on Donald Trump with a rebuke of his conservative credentials, questioning Trump’s enthusiastic support for eminent domain.
The two main clashes in the debate revealed divergent strategies followed by trailing candidates in need of a breakout moment in the crowded field: Attack the front-runner or try to blunt the momentum of a fast-rising rival.
Saturday’s nationally televised prime-time debate in Manchester offered what was probably the last best chance for candidates to shake up the field before voters here go to the polls Tuesday.
Trump is trying to sustain his celebrity-driven candidacy after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses, a blow to the New York businessman who has consistently touted his first-place ranking in polls.
But all week it has been Rubio drawing fire from his rivals, a trend that continued in the debate’s earliest moments. Christie mocked Rubio for defending his record of accomplishment in the Senate, charging that Florida’s junior senator had never been involved in a “consequential decision where [he] had to be held accountable.”
The target on Marco Rubio’s back grew larger Saturday, as rivals candidates, starting with Chris Christie, sought to turn the Florida senator’s polish into a liability in a critical debate on the eve of New Hampshire’s leadoff presidential primary.
Meanwhile, Jeb Bush sought anew to take on Donald Trump with a rebuke of his conservative credentials, questioning Trump’s enthusiastic support for eminent domain.
The two main clashes in the debate revealed divergent strategies followed by trailing candidates in need of a breakout moment in the crowded field: Attack the front-runner or try to blunt the momentum of a fast-rising rival.
Saturday’s nationally televised prime-time debate in Manchester offered what was probably the last best chance for candidates to shake up the field before voters here go to the polls Tuesday.
Trump is trying to sustain his celebrity-driven candidacy after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses, a blow to the New York businessman who has consistently touted his first-place ranking in polls.
But all week it has been Rubio drawing fire from his rivals, a trend that continued in the debate’s earliest moments. Christie mocked Rubio for defending his record of accomplishment in the Senate, charging that Florida’s junior senator had never been involved in a “consequential decision where [he] had to be held accountable.”
