As I write this, the Republican debate on Fox Business Network is wrapping up. It is a couple of hours out of my life that I will never get back, but at least I was smart enough to do some multi-tasking.

The debate started off with a question to Ted Cruz about jobs. Cruz starts off talking about how 10 U.S. soldiers were on their knees in Iran and how Obama didn’t really do or say much about it. Cruz said that when he is commander in chief, that no U.S. soldiers will be on their knees.

Now I am not one to hesitate in criticizing Obama, but this is one subject where Obama’s reaction to the event was proper. There was no escalation. Iran released the soldiers who had “drifted” into Iranian waters. I put that in quotes because it is highly doubtful that it was a mistake. And if it was, it certainly wasn’t a mistake that they were near Iranian waters in the first place.

If Obama should be criticized at all for this event, it is just the fact that the U.S. military is over in that region at all. The event never should have happened because the U.S. military shouldn’t be there patrolling waters.

Despite Cruz being somewhat decent on economics, at least compared to the rest of the field, there is no way I could ever think about supporting him even a little bit. He is pro war and pro intervention. He wants to build the U.S. empire even bigger, if that is even possible.

Imagine if Iranian sailors “drifted” into the Gulf of Mexico and ended up just off the beaches of Florida or Texas. What would the reaction be from Americans? What would the reaction be from Ted Cruz?

If anything, this whole incident just proves that Cruz and all of the other war hawks are completely wrong in their assessment of Iran. The Iranians quickly returned the captured sailors and seemed to treat them well. Whether it was done because they are kind or because they are afraid of the blowback from the U.S., it doesn’t even matter that much. The point is that they acted rationally. They are not a bunch of maniacs as portrayed by the media and the likes of Ted Cruz, or at least not any more crazy than U.S. politicians.

I found most of the rest of the debate boring, but maybe it is just a result of seeing too much. I can’t imagine how boring it would be without Donald Trump in there.

The exchange between Trump and Cruz on the issue of whether Cruz qualifies as a naturalized citizen was the most entertaining part of the night. It is interesting that this is just coming up now. I questioned Cruz’s status about a year ago, wondering how he could qualify to run for president if he was born in Canada.

Also, if Cruz is allowed to run because his mother is American, doesn’t that mean that the birther issue with Obama is a non-issue and has been all along? Obama’s mother was an American.

As for Trump, he continues to not back down on much. That is his main appeal. I did notice he said that we should “repeal and replace” Obamacare. He inherited that talking point from the Republican establishment. We still don’t know what “replace” means.

Trump also said that the police are the most mistreated people in America. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry over that comment. In some cases, it is true that the police have a really tough job in some aspects, especially when dealing with inner cities. On the other hand, has Donald Trump ignored all of the stories that happen daily of innocent people being mistreated by the police?

In terms of economics, I was surprised there was not more, but the end of the debate did have some good discussion about taxes. Rubio completely ignored a question on “entitlement” spending, which really is the major economic issue facing this country. Christie did a good job of pointing out that Rubio did not answer the question.

Still, the debate between Rubio and Cruz was decent. Rubio criticized Cruz’s plan for a VAT tax. He also pointed out that Cruz can’t get rid of the IRS, or else he will just rename it. As long as the government is collecting any forced taxes, then there has to be an agency to enforce it. I actually thought both candidates had good criticisms of the others and their plans.

To look at this situation objectively, and not just from a libertarian point of view (not that you can’t be objective from a libertarian point of view), I will run down how I see the Republican nomination taking shape.

First, there is no question that Trump is the person to beat right now. The longer that people stay in the race, the better it is for Trump. It dilutes all of the anti-Trump people. He can easily win the nomination then with 40% support. The worst case scenario for Trump, aside from having the establishment literally destroy him, is if most of the candidates drop out after Iowa and New Hampshire. If it is just Trump and, say, two other candidates left in the race going into the big primaries, then one of the other candidates may have a chance.

Rubio and Cruz are the two likely main challengers at this point. Since Bush and Walker (remember him?) haven’t worked out too well for the establishment, they are backing Rubio. They don’t really want Cruz, but they will take him over Trump.

Kasich is done. Christie is probably done, but I can’t completely count him out because he is polling ok in New Hampshire. Jeb Bush is a total dud. He is done unless the establishment really oversteps and rigs the whole thing in plain sight.

Ben Carson was barely awake again during the debate. He even made a comment about waking him up when it was his turn to talk. Unless the other major candidates completely implode, Carson is likely done.

My last word is on Rand Paul, who was excluded from the debate. He is throwing a temper tantrum over the exclusion, but he really has no one to blame but himself. It is a sad situation. His whole campaign has been a disaster. He is not his father and I think most libertarians recognize that. That is why most libertarians don’t really support him. And for the ones who do support him, they don’t do so enthusiastically.

Rand Paul is now just digging a deeper hole for himself. He is showing a lack of class, which I can’t believe I am saying because Ron Paul is nothing but class. Rand may not even get reelected to the senate because he has looked so bad.

Even though I am anti political, I am still something of a political junkie. For those like me, we can look forward to the Iowa caucuses, even knowing that it probably won’t matter much who is elected. Still, it is nice to see the candidates who are not favored by the establishment beating the establishment candidates. We have to start somewhere.