What they're saying in Boulder about the debate
Not counting a few small demonstrations meant to draw attention to issues such as gay rights, climate change and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the streets of decidedly liberal-leaning Boulder, Colorado, were surprisingly quiet just before Wednesday night's GOP debate on the University of Colorado campus.
Some of the city's many bars and restaurants had TVs switched on to the debate so their patrons could watch the event unfold. While many viewers appeared to be tuning in to the Republican candidates more for their entertainment value, some were also giving the candidates some thought.
"I just don't think that these debates matter yet," said Laura Krantz, a freelance journalist and science writer at the university who was watching the debate with friends at a local sports bar. "It's still a little too early."
Several blocks away in a small restaurant, 68-year-old Bill Dennler watched the debate while having dinner with 65-year-old Mike Moran, who works in real estate. As the event passed its halfway point, both men wondered when the candidates would come up with their own economic solutions.
"I think it's easier for them to blame the present administration," said Dennler, a retired elementary school teacher who recently switched his party affiliation from Independent to Democrat, "and a lot of the blame doesn't seem warranted. And to listen to them, it sounds like unemployment is at 10 percent and the market is down thousands of points."
Dennler felt the GOP candidates needed to talk more about how best to build on the current economic recovery. He pointed to investment in the nation's infrastructure, as well as raising the minimum wage, as factors that could further stimulate the overall economy.
"Once again, the Republicans want to cut, cut, cut," added Moran. "But they have no ideas of how to raise money to provide (the) services that everyone knows we need."
The university's student body was also watching. While only 100 CU Boulder students were given tickets to attend the GOP debate, in a hall with thousands of seats, hundreds more turned up at an official on-campus watch party or tuned in at nearby dorms and fraternities.
Josh Toler, a 21-year-old who's studying finance and accounting, gave his own mini-reviews of the Republican candidates' economic plans while watching the debate with friends.
Jeb Bush, he said, appeared to have an "historical reference of how the economy works," thanks to his family.
Ted Cruz? "Decent plan, not so sure if it would work."
Donald Trump? "Could go either way," observed Toler. "But a country's not a corporation. There's a lot of factors that he would like to control that you can't control, so it all depends."
A political independent, Toler gave the Obama administration some credit for the current economic recovery.
"We're on the right track to improving," he said. "Obama has done a decent job of getting us there, and now we just need to progress it, refine and further (improve) our economy."
But he was very concerned by the burgeoning national debt. "That's way out of control," he said during a break in the debate. "You can't keep adding to the debt and expect our economy to continue to do well. That's just basic economic theory."
As to whether he would vote Republican a year from now, "I honestly don't know," Toler said. "I'd have to hear a few more debates and read a lot more information right now. I could go either way, honestly."