What Might Have Been

Watching the Republican debate tonight, I couldn't help but think,

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been!'"

What we saw tonight was what the Republican race might have been without Donald Trump. The debate was substantive, the candidates were reasonable, a viewer didn't feel embarrassed to be a Republican, and indeed one felt—at least I felt—that several of the candidates, including the top two, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, would do fine against Hillary Clinton.