I’ve kind of lost count of the number of Republican debates that we’ve had. My brother and his family, God bless them, were still watching the one that happened on Thursday night — the one where Trump didn’t attend because he’s afraid of Megyn Kelly — but I couldn’t do it. Oh, I might have watched if I were at home and had nothing better to do, but I wasn’t.

In any case, Michael Cohen of the Boston Globe summarized the proceedings very nicely, from what I gathered. His take, in brief, was:

• Even without attending, Trump might still have won. His decision not to attend once again took “some of the oxygen out of the room.”
• Everyone hates Ted Cruz, who appeared to more unctuous than even his normally unctuous self.
• Rand Paul and Jeb Bush had good nights, but it’s unlikely to matter, as they’re both in single digits in Iowa.
• Ben Carson, once again, gave us nothing.
• Chris Christie is starting to sound like Rudy Giuliani from 2008, where he’s invoking 9/11 at every opportunity.
• Marco Rubio was just engaging in fear mongering at the debate.

I do have to say that it is interesting how much both Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina have already tanked. It reminds me of the 2012 campaign and the “flavor of the month” Republican candidates. Fiorina, after several good early debate performances, is no longer being invited to the main stage. Carson still looks like he’s asleep. Only Donald Trump, of all the crazy outsiders, has had remarkable staying power this time around.