5 Best Questions at Undercard GOP Debate

Fox Business News journalists Sandra Smith and Trish Regan and Wall Street Journal Washington bureau chief Gerald Seib lived up to the hype.
By Tobias Burns ,

All eyes were on the moderators Tuesday night during the first of the two GOP debates in Milwaukee. After last week's debate, the Republican Party -- miffed about CNBC's "gotcha questions" during the last debate -- took its business to the Fox Business Network.

FBN journalists Sandra Smith and Trish Regan and Wall Street Journal Washington bureau chief Gerald Seib lived up to the hype, moderating a policy-heavy discussion that drew little in the way of criticism from the candidates.

The only question that prompted eye rolls was from Gerald Seib about which Democratic Party politicians the Republican hopefuls respected most. Otherwise, the questions engendered economic proposals and the occasional tete-a-tete. Here were the most substantive:

1. "As president, what concrete steps will you take to get America back to work?" (Trish Regan)

2. "As we move away from a manufacturing economy to a services-based, technological economy, how are you going to help the millions of Americans that are stuck in this transition?" (Trish Regan)

3. "Federal statistics show that payrolls have expanded by 8.7 million new jobs so far during [Obama's] time in office. All the jobs lost in the Recession were recovered by last year. In October, the economy added jobs in the fastest rate since 2009. So what's wrong with the Obama jobs record?" (Gerald Seib)

4. "Governor Christie, you have said that the Democrats' message is one of 'free stuff.' In contrast, Republicans want to reduce spending. How do you win a national election when the Democrats are offering free health care, a freer subsidized college education, and you're the party that's seemingly offering nothing in the way of immediate tangible benefits." (Trish Regan)

5. "Governor Huckabee, you differ from many of your GOP opponents on this stage tonight over accepting Syrian refugees into this country. You have said, 'We don't have an obligation to just open our doors.' As the Islamic State continues to expand, slaughtering and crucifying Christians including women and children, refugees continue to flee their land by the thousands. Should America open its doors to accept any refugees in this country? If so, how many?"

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