South Carolina Looms Large

     Anderson Cooper held a Town Hall style gathering in front of a live audience tonight in Greenville, South Carolina.  Featured candidates included Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.  This format allowed the candidates to respond to pointed questions from select voters from the audience, and to explain positions related to the questions.  It appears that it was more successful than the "debate" style face-offs prior to Iowa and New Hampshire voting.
      One concern of potential voters was the replacement of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who died in bed last weekend while in Texas on a hunting trip.  Candidates expressed concern that Obama would take the opportunity to stack the Court with another liberal Justice who could affect decisions for years to come.  Given that Obama has already placed 2 liberal justices on the Court, a 3rd liberal would be a coup for any Democratic president in the White House.  However, a Republican-dominated Senate is unlikely to affirm any but the most conservative candidate.  Scalia has been acknowledged as the best writer on the Court, perhaps the best of all time.  His decisions and his dissents were always worth the time to read them for their clarity, logic, and readability.
     Ted Cruz, again, appeared to be the most relaxed of the 3, responding with reasonable(for him) answers to all questions posed by members of the meeting group.  Marco Rubio seemed more anxious, less sure, and lacked that quality that makes the difference among equals stand out.  Ben Carson, too, offered little that was unexpected or perhaps could convince anymore voters to be swayed in his direction.
     Tomorrow night: Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and the Darn Old Trump.  Should be worth the time to watch.