CNN’s GOP debate: Best of the final hour

CNN’s marathon three-hour presidential debate on Wednesday was called “unacceptable,” by front-runner Donald Trump. Politico agreed, running a headline: “CNN’s three-hour debate from hell.” And the New York Daily News, perhaps was the most annoyed, calling out CNN for being the “Clown News Network” on its front page Thursday.

More than 34,000 words were spoken in Wednesday night’s debate — more than any other televised presidential debate on record, according to USA Today. Vanity Fair reported that 16 hours after the debate, more than 3,210 tweets including the words “debate” and “too long” had been posted.

So, with all this being said, if you missed the last hour of the presidential Republican debate, we understand. Here’s a few of the highlights, starting 120 minutes in:

Memorable admission from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush:

“So 40 years ago I smoked marijuana, and I admit it, I’m sure that other people might have done it and may not want to say it in front of 25 million people. My mom’s not happy that I just did.”

Heartfelt personal story from businesswoman Carly Fiorina:

“I very much hope that I am the only person on this stage who can say this, but I know there are millions of Americans out there who can say the same thing: My husband Frank and I buried a child to drug addiction. So, we must invest more in the treatment of drugs. … We are misleading young people when we tell them that marijuana is just like having a beer.”

Gun law common sense by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio:

“The only people who follow the law, are law abiding people. Criminals by definition ignore the law. So you can pass all the gun laws in the world, like the left wants, and the criminals are going to ignore it because they’re criminals. The real issue is not what are people using to commit violence, but why are they committing the violence.”

Mr. Rubio taking on the issue and policies of climate change:

“America is a lot of things, the greatest country in the world, absolutely. But America is not a planet. We’re not even the largest carbon producer anymore, China is. And they’re drilling a hole and digging anywhere in the world that they can get ahold of. So the bottom line is: I’m not in favor of any policies that make America a harder place to live, or to work, or to raise their families.”

And then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defending Mr. Rubio’s stance after CNN moderator Jake Tapper called Mr. Rubio a “skeptic of climate change.”

“I don’t think Sen. Rubio is a skeptic of climate change, I think what Senator Rubio said, I agree with. In fact, we don’t need this massive government intervention to deal with the problem. … I agree with Marco, we shouldn’t be destroying our economy to chase some wild left-wing idea that somehow us by ourselves is going to fix the climate. We can contribute to that and be economically sound.”

The real doctor, Ben Carson, schooling front-runner Donald Trump on the link between autism and vaccinations:

“There have been numerous studies and they have not demonstrated any correlation between vaccinations and autism.”

The two men then agreed pediatric vaccinations, in smaller doses spread out over a longer period of time, may be the best solution.

Then came the biggest stumper of the night: What woman would you like to see on the $10 bill?

Mr. Carson, Mr. Trump and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee all named family members. Mr. Rubio offered up Rosa Parks, which was then parroted by Mr. Trump (he gave two answers) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Mr. Bush named Margaret Thatcher, then took it back because “it’s probably illegal.”

But Ms. Fiorina came with a more serious, mic-drop moment: “I wouldn’t change $10 bill or the $20 bill, I think honestly its a gesture. … What I would think is that we ought to recognize is that women are not a special-interest group, women are the majority of this nation.”

Eveready Jeb:

When asked what his Secret Service code name would be if elected, Mr. Bush drew guffaws from the audience with his response of “Eveready.”

“It’s very high-energy, Donald,” he said, a nod to Mr. Trump’s critique of him being a “low-energy” candidate on the campaign trail.

Mr. Trump rewarded Mr. Bush’s answer with a high-five and then — in a rare moment of self-awareness — said his would be “Humble,” to another round of laughter.