A Very Good Republican Presidential Debate

Donald Trump ducked the first Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, and his absence did the party and country a favor. Voters were able to hear eight other candidates and size up their policies, sparring abilities and differences. GOP voters who want to nominate someone who can defeat a highly vulnerable President Biden have more than one capable non-Trump to choose from.

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Ron DeSantis had to counter the perception that his campaign is in free-fall, and he did a good job of explaining his greatest hits as Florida Governor on Covid and fighting progressive prosecutors. He said he would have sacked Anthony Fauci, a nice contrast with Mr. Trump’s Covid delegation to the doctor.

But the Governor also ducked more than one question, such as whether he’d support a national ban of 15 weeks on abortion. He didn’t raise his hand at first on whether he’d vote for Mr. Trump if he’s convicted of a felony, but then did raise it when he saw others do it. He had to be coaxed into saying Mike Pence did the right thing by counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Most disappointing was his answer on providing more military aid to Ukraine, indulging the dodge that he’d ask Europe to do more first. All of this made him look more poll-driven and afraid of Mr. Trump than the fearless leader he portrays himself to be.

Vivek Ramaswamy is close to Mr. DeSantis in the polls, and he has the gift of energy and verbal facility. He can sling appealing phrases, and his line that Americans are hungry for purpose will resonate with many voters. But he can also sound like a young man in too much of a hurry, and his rapid-fire one-liners and insults (“I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for”) give him the air of a supercilious grad student.

He seems to have made a calculation that he can prosper by running as Mr. Trump’s biggest defender, almost as if he wouldn’t have to defeat Mr. Trump to get the nomination. But he would be more credible if he weren’t so slavish in his defense. He left himself open for Chris Christie’s roundhouse that landed about being the candidate from ChatGPT.

Former Vice President Mike Pence often seemed like the adult in the room, especially on foreign policy. He and Nikki Haley pounded Mr. Ramaswamy for his willingness to withdraw support for Ukraine. Mr. Pence was especially good in eviscerating the glib false choice between aiding Ukraine or controlling the southern U.S. border. And Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina Governor, made the moral case against Vladimir Putin’s depredations.

Mr. Ramaswamy, and to a lesser extent Mr. DeSantis, are playing to an emergent strain of isolationism in the GOP that is always latent and which Mr. Trump has exhumed. So Mr. Pence and Ms. Haley are taking a risk with their view about the necessity of U.S. global leadership, and good for them.

Democrats and the press would have Americans believe that every Republican candidate is a MAGA replica of Donald Trump. But the debate was a repudiation of that claim on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and foreign policy in particular.

Most GOP voters who aren’t in Iowa or New Hampshire are only getting to know these candidates, and Ms. Haley may have been the most pleasant surprise. Though pro-life, she was forceful in telling the truth about the reality of abortion politics, which is that no national abortion ban has a chance of passing.

Mr. Pence and Sen. Tim Scott argued for a 15-week ban on moral grounds, which is admirable. Their view may play well with the religious right in Iowa. But Ms. Haley’s position is the one best suited to go the distance in a general election, and she didn’t shrink from her view though she knows it might cost her with some primary voters.

Mr. Scott had his familiar message of optimism, but he didn’t do himself a favor by standing outside the fray for most of the night. He has much to offer the GOP, and he may have to be willing to shed some of his nice-guy character if he wants to break through the campaign clutter.

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The debate benefited enormously from Donald Trump’s decision to stay away. The Fox News moderators asked a round of questions about Mr. Trump’s indictments, and Mr. Christie told the audience what it didn’t want to hear about Mr. Trump’s behavior not being worthy of a President. Even if GOP voters think, rightly, that Democrats are using prosecution as a political weapon, tens of millions also know in their hearts that Mr. Christie is right.

The press corps and Democrats were disappointed because they wanted the debate, like they want the entire 2024 campaign, to be all about Donald Trump all the time. The former President will dominate the news again Thursday when he presents himself for booking at a Georgia courthouse. But at least for one night GOP voters were able to see that they have better choices.