It’s that time again….time to be bored to death.

Last night was the GOP debate before the Iowa vote next week…..and before the debate was aired Christie threw in the towel…..

Chris Christie has dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination just days before the Iowa caucuses. “I’ve always said that if there came a point in time in this race where I couldn’t see a path to accomplishing that goal that I would get out,” the former New Jersey governor said at a campaign event in New Hampshire Wednesday, per the New York Times. “It’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination, which is why I’m suspending my campaign tonight for president of the United States.” Christie was speaking hours before rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis were due to take part in the fifth GOP debate, which he didn’t qualify for.

Christie’s campaign had struggled to make headway in the polls but the AP describes the move as a surprise, given that Christie had staked the success of his campaign on New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary and had insisted as recently as Tuesday that he wasn’t planning to drop out. “I would be happy to get out of the way for someone who is actually running against Donald Trump,” Christie said Tuesday, per Politico, arguing that rivals including Haley weren’t going after the former president like he was. On Wednesday he said that anybody unwilling to describe Trump as unfit to be president was unfit themselves.

Sources tell NBC News that Christie isn’t expected to endorse another candidate at this time, though his exit will likely boost Haley among the moderate New Hampshire Republican voters both campaigns had targeted. A CNN poll this week found that Trump had the support of 39% of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, with Haley at 32% and Christie at 12%. The poll found that Haley was the second choice of around two-thirds of Christie voters, enough to put her in first place with Christie’s exit.

Christie has a closing thought about his female rival…. “She’s gonna get smoked, and you and I both know it,” a hot mic caught Christie saying, though he didn’t use her name. “She’s not up to this.” 

Enough of the banter….let’s talk about the GOP debate that had 2 people taking shots….down to DeSantis and Haley….

Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley got plenty of talking time in Wednesday night’s GOP debate given that they were the only candidates on stage, and they largely used it to attack each rather than frontrunner Donald Trump. (The former president again skipped the debate and instead took part in a town hall on Fox News.) Haley relentlessly promoted a new website called deSantisLies, while he accused her of being a “mealy-mouthed politician.” Some moments:

• Trump: Both candidates declined to say that Trump doesn’t respect the Constitution, per the New York Times. DeSantis again said he feared Trump would be too distracted by his legal fights to be an effective president. Haley said that while Trump has called Jan. 6, 2021, a “beautiful day,” she considers it a “terrible day,” per the Washington Post. She also said it was “ridiculous” to state (as a Trump attorney did in court) that a president who assassinated a political rival would have immunity, and she said she was wary of the “chaos” Trump might bring to a second term.
• Odd joke: DeSantis joked that Haley has a “problem with ballistic podiatry,” which he explained means “shooting yourself in the foot every other day,” per the AP. Haley responded with an eye roll.
• A slam: Haley criticized how DeSantis has run his campaign, asserting that he has “blown $150 million” with little to show for it. “If he can’t handle the financial parts of a campaign, how is he going to handle the economy when it comes to the White House?” she asked. DeSantis responded that she was focused on campaign minutia instead of issues voters actually care about. When moderators cut him off, Haley added, “I think I hit a nerve.”
• Admiration: After two hours of hurling sometimes nasty insults at each other, the candidates were asked what they admired about each other. DeSantis said Haley spoke out strongly on important issues as UN ambassador, and he also said he liked her state of South Carolina, adding that becoming its governor was a “great achievement.” Haley was more succinct: “I think he’s been a good governor.”
• Ukraine: The pair split notably on Ukraine, with DeSantis accusing Haley of supporting a war she doesn’t know how to end, reports Politico. “You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations,” he said, “but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador.” (This quip came well before he praised her UN performance.) Haley countered that allowing Russia to win would be a big victory for China, too.

If you would like more then….The Hill has a comprehensive roundup of key points.

Believe me folks….it was a yawn as usual…..nothing but shots and BS for the full time….be glad you are not a politics junkie.

I hope you got something out of this review…

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”