CARLY SOARS – AT 8:40 A.M. ET:  As many had predicted, Carly Fiorina's standing in the polls has improved dramatically as a result of her stellar performance in last week's debates.  Many observers declared her the star of the evening, even though she was relegated to the "junior" debate.  From the New York Post: 

WASHINGTON — She was relegated to the “kids table,” but Carly Fiorina’s strong performance in last week’s GOP presidential debates propelled her into the top tier in the crowded Republican field.

Three new polls released Tuesday put the former Hewlett-Packard CEO within the top five of 17 Republican presidential candidates — a huge leap from the No. 14 spot she held prior to the Thursday night showdown on Fox News.

By most accounts, Fiorina won that second-tier forum featuring the seven candidates with the lowest poll scores.

“She has broken through,” Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos told The Post.

The next debate on Sept. 16 will be hosted by CNN at the Ronald Reagan Library in California.
Once again, the candidates will be separated, with the top 10 getting a spot on the main event stage and the candidates in the bottom tier of national polls going to the B-list debate.

And...

Paleologos called Fiorina’s showing “dramatic.”

The debate, he said, “was a real boost — it would have been a turbo boost had she been in the evening debate — but a boost is a boost nevertheless. She’s put herself in the game and that’s what you need to do six months before the first contest.”

COMMENT:  Why the raves?  Because Fiorina is the most prepared, most articulate candidate running.  She knows how to put across her point of view in plain English, without rancor, and in a beautifully modulated voice.  She clearly practices.  All good speakers do.  She's extraordinarily focused.  She has the will to win, and we sense it.

Even if she doesn't eventually get the nomination, she might well still be on the ticket, and will be an asset.

August 12, 2015