Senator Cruz and Representative O'Rourke finally met each other in the first debate.  There are two more debates later in the campaign.

Yes, I plan to vote for Senator Cruz.  My mind was made up before the debate.  Nevertheless, I was curious to watch Beto, or the man so many are already comparing to the Kennedys.

Honestly, Beto looked stiff, maybe nervous, and totally uninspiring.  It's hard to see how he pleased his base with that performance.

First, he looked uncomfortable talking about issues.  He went to slogans and clichés every single time.  How many times did he say he visited all 250-something counties?  Or the one about working with President Trump when we can and standing up to him when we must?  Or the silly line about the GOP tax plan being good to the rich?

Does Mr. O'Rourke understand that Texas is booming and no one down here is giving President Obama the credit?

Then he started talking about uninsured Texans.  Can someone remind Mr. O'Rourke that the Affordable Care Act is in fact the law of the land?  How can so many be uninsured?  Didn't Beto tell Texans that they can buy a subsidized policy in the exchange?  To my knowledge, President Trump has not stopped anyone from buying a policy on the exchange.

On the other side, Senator Cruz just pricked each Beto balloon with ease.  In baseball terms, Beto had very little on the ball last night.

It won't get easier for Mr. O'Rourke.  He will soon debate foreign policy, and I can't wait to hear his position on Israel.

It won't get easier when they talk about abortion, an issue that does not play well with Hispanic women – or his vote against banning abortion after 20 weeks.

Overall, not a good debate for Mr. O'Rourke.  It didn't help that his explanation of the 1998 drinking and driving incident contradicts police reports.  To be honest, I'm not that worked up about the incident twenty years ago, but Beto sounded like a man who didn't anticipate such a question.

To be fair, Senator Cruz is not a TV-friendly candidate.  At least he was prepared and had a game plan.  Beto, on the other hand, just seems to be counting on some kind of magic.  Beto thought he could charm another audience, but he really didn't.

Beto showed that he is a candidate traveling too much rather than doing issue-oriented press conferences.  He'd be better off going on Texas talk radio than going on Ellen again.  He needs to get better at handling tough questions, the sort his "Beto-mania" sycophants are obviously not asking him.

Last, but not least, the two reporters were good. 

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Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.