The Note: In Case You Missed The Battle In Boulder
— -- NOTABLES
--6 MOMENTS THAT MATTERED AT THE THIRD GOP DEBATE: At times it seemed the night was defined not by the candidates' attacks on each other, but on the moderators who lobbed challenging and, at times, contentious questions at them. Some fought back and some candidates, including Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Chris Christie, came out looking strong. But others, most notably Jeb Bush, needed a breakout moment that never came. ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE, RYAN STRUYK and MICHAEL FALCONE look at the six moments that mattered at the third Republican presidential debate. http://abcn.ws/1NChDhw And WALSHE walks us through the highlights: http://abcn.ws/1MkmUqD
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: If the Republican Party has a path out of its extended Trump moment, it didn' t find it at the third GOP debate of the election cycle. Wednesday night' s debate was as chaotic as the race it was designed to help sort out. A race that features two outsiders on top saw a group of veteran politicians squabble among themselves and take on the media as a group, with little apparent clarity imposed on the race. In its broadest strokes, the debate marked an attempt by members of the party establishment to reclaim the nominating process from forces they' ve struggled to understand and adjust to. But nobody on stage seemed to connect in a way that would change the dynamics that have Donald Trump and Ben Carson leading a field of veteran elected office holders. READ MORE: http://abcn.ws/1HcOVyW
--CNBC DEBATE MODERATORS FACE BACKLASH: The chairman of the Republican National Committee declared that CNBC, the host network, "should be ashamed." "One of the great things about our party is that we are able to have a dynamic exchange about which solutions will secure a prosperous future, and I will fight to ensure future debates allow for a more robust exchange," RNC chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement shortly after the more than two hour debate, held in Boulder, Colorado. CNBC vice president of communications Brian Steel issued a response: "People who want to be president of the United States should be able to answer tough questions," he said.
--MISSED THE DEBATE? HERE'S A RECAP. The third Republican presidential debate in a minute. ABC's ALI DUKAKIS, TOM THORNTON and KIRSTEN APPLETON highlight the best moments. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1WiJrPr
TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE: Marco Rubio is Chicago today for closed press fundraisers while Donald Trump is in Sparks, Nevada for an afternoon rally. Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton are both in New Hampshire today. Ben Carson remains in Colorado. He holds a press avail followed by a speech at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood. In the afternoon and evening he heads to closed press fundraisers in Denver and then Clayton, Missouri. Ted Cruz will be in Las Vegas where he opens his campaign office this evening followed by a town hall. Martin O' Malley, Rick Santorum, and Bobby Jindal are all in Iowa. Mike Huckabee will appear this morning on ABC's "The View."
THE BUZZ
with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ
WHAT BODY LANGUAGE EXPERTS TELL US ABOUT THE THIRD REPUBLICAN DEBATE. Presidential debates may be mainly about what the candidates say -- but it can be just as much about what they don' t say, ABC's RYAN STRUYK notes. Body language is a critical part of how candidates are perceived by voters, and many candidates invest hours honing how they come across to millions watching on television. So ABC News went to three body language experts for their opinions on how each candidate was portraying themselves during the debate. Joe Navarro, who wrote the book "What Every Body is Saying," is a former FBI agent who used non-verbal analysis to identify spies and gain counterintelligence. Janine Driver is a New York Times bestselling author who now leads a body language training at the Body Language Institute in Washington. And John Neffinger is a communications strategist who teaches at Georgetown and Columbia Business School, and also coaches politicians to communicate more effectively. Here' s what they told us: http://abcn.ws/1M3aTtL
FACT CHECK -- DESPITE DENIAL, DONALD TRUMP DID CALL MARCO RUBIO THE ' PERSONAL SENATOR' OF MARK ZUCKERBERG. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday denied previously attacking Sen. Marco Rubio for his connections to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, despite evidence to the contrary. When asked about the subject during the third GOP debate, Trump responded, "I never said this," followed by the moderator's immediate apology for making the accusation. But in Trump's immigration policy paper, released in August, the New York real estate mogul says exactly the opposite, ABC' s JOHN SANTUCCI reports. On the issue of giving unemployed Americans the first crack at technology jobs often claimed by foreign workers through H-1B visas, the policy paper says, "This will improve the number of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley who have been passed over in favor of the H-1B program. Mark Zuckerberg' s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities." http://abcn.ws/1ik5P8l
DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE CARRIES A GUN 'SOMETIMES A LOT.' Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has long acknowledged that he has a concealed carry permit for a firearm, but at Wednesday night' s debate, he hinted at how often he packs heat. "I do carry on occasion -- sometimes a lot," Trump said. "But I like to be unpredictable." Trump was asked at the debate in Boulder, Colorado, hosted by CNBC, if he would feel better if his own employees brought firearms to work. "Yes, I might feel more comfortable," the billionaire real estate mogul said. "I would say that I would." http://abcn.ws/1LYV1oO
BEST LINES AND ZINGERS FROM THE DEBATE. The debate was not short on drama and memorable moments. ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI highlights some of the best lines and zingers said by some of the 10 candidates on stage. http://abcn.ws/1GKUvh8
FEUD BETWEEN JEB BUSH AND MARCO RUBIO BOILS OVER. It' s the fiery moment that was a long time coming. The enmity between GOP candidates Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush - a father-son drama even more fierce than if George Lucas wrote it himself - finally came to a head during the third GOP debate, as the two sparred over Rubio' s missed senate votes. Rubio was asked by host Carl Quintanilla if he should resign from his job as Senate, following an editorial from Florida paper, the Sun Sentinel, calling on Rubio to "resign, not rip us off." "I read the editorial with great amusement, it' s actually evidence of the bias that exists in the American media today," Rubio responded. Jeb Bush then interjected, naming himself as a constituent of the senator' s. "He' s a gifted politician. But Marco, when you signed up for this, this is a six-year term. You should be showing up to term...Just resign and let somebody else take the job," Bush said. ABC's CANDACE SMITH has more. http://abcn.ws/1kU9E5Z
CHECK OUT JEB BUSH' S DEBATE BOOTS. In preparation for the third debate Wednesday, GOP candidate Jeb Bush is donning some fancy footwear. In a photo tweeted before the beginning of the main-stage debate, the former Florida governor (Texas-born) showed off what he called his "debate boots," cowboy boots on which his name is embroidered, ABC's CANDACE SMITH notes. http://abcn.ws/1kcePO5
MARCO RUBIO SHINED IN GOP DEBATE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTORS SAY. From squabbles between a former mentor/protégé pair to a surprising lack of focus on the two frontrunners, the third Republican presidential debate could mark a pivotal moment. ABC News political contributors MATT DOWD and LZ GRANDERSON broke down Wednesday' s showdown, offering their take on how it could shake up the race. http://abcn.ws/1MuEiPD
GOP UNDERCARD CANDIDATES FIND HILLARY CLINTON A MORE CONVENIENT FOE THAN EACH OTHER. Although the four Republican presidential candidates in Wednesday night's "undercard" debate are lagging behind 10 of their fellow GOP contenders in the race for the nomination, they largely skipped criticizing opponents in their own party. Instead, they took aim at the frontrunner on the Democratic side: Hillary Clinton ABC's BEN GITTLESON reports. "Good god, look who we're running against," South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said, before unloading on Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who is also running for the Democratic nomination. "The number one candidate on the other side thought she was flat broke after her and her husband were in the White House for eight years. The number two guy went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon and I don't think he ever came back." http://abcn.ws/1ReZGXa
HOW GRIEF AND TRAGEDY HAVE LEFT A MARK ON 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RACE. Tragedy has left its mark on the 2016 presidential race. The effects of tragedy are most apparent as it relates to Joe Biden' s decision not to throw his hat into the ring -- after the vice president decided that he had run out of time to mount a successful presidential campaign by the time he and his family had fully worked through the grief over the death of his son Beau earlier this year. But Biden is hardly alone in the field of candidates whose lives and political journeys have been shaped by tragedy and personal hardship. ABC's JORDYN PHELPS has more on some of the candidates running for the White House whose lives have been rocked by personal tragedy. http://abcn.ws/20a82p4
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
HILLARY CLINTON DOES NOT WANT TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY, CALLS FOR REVIEW. Hillary Clinton said that while the death penalty needs to be limited and deserves a "hard look," she does not want to abolish capital punishment, weighing in on the hot-button issue for the first time this election cycle ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE and LIZ KREUTZ report. Clinton told an audience at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire that the punishment is "too frequently applied and very unfortunately often times in a discriminatory way," but that it should not be gotten rid of altogether. http://abcn.ws/1RC8RAX
GOP PILES ON HILLARY CLINTON OVER VA REMARK. Hillary Clinton' s campaign Wednesday defended her recent characterization of the Veterans Affairs hospital controversy, accusing Republicans of trying to "exploit the scandal" by going after the Democratic presidential front-runner for comments she made recently about issues with veterans care. ABC's SHUSHANNAH WALSHE and LIZ KREUTZ have more. http://abcn.ws/1iiWE8i
WHO'S TWEETING?
@amyewalter: Candidates/moderators learning that politics is a lot like golf, looks real easy until you try it and find out it's actually pretty hard.
@politicoalex: NEW w/ @EliStokols: post debate, bush camp braces for internal firing squad/finger pointing http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/bush-walks-into-rubios-trap-215337 ...
@hillhulse: Speaker Boehner goes out like he came in - stirring things up and smoking Camels. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/politics/its-been-a-good-run-boehner-says-as-his-25-years-in-congress-draw-to-a-close.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 ...
@DavidBozell: Christie is going to leapfrog Kasich and Jeb and take control of the "establishment lane."
@politicalwire: Dial tests by @FrankLuntz show Ted Cruz had the best moment of last night's debate http://politicalwire.com/2015/10/29/cruzs-attack-on-media-scores/ ...