Republican debate: Carly Fiorina stands out in her face off with Donald Trump

Donald Trump wondered in Rolling Stone magazine whether anyone would vote for "that face," meaning Carly Fiorina's.

"Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?" he was quoted as saying.

After Wednesday night's debate between Trump, Fiorina and nine other Republican presidential candidates, there may be a lot more in the party answering "yes" to Trump's rhetorical question. They may indeed be imagining Fiorina as their pick for the GOP ticket given her standout performance on the crowded stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Trump claimed last week after the article was published that he was referring to Fiorina's "persona," when the controversial comment came to light. He wasn't referring to her physical appearance, he insisted.

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But the insult, which is how many took the comment despite Trump's claim, contributed to the hype leading up to the debate when Trump and Fiorina faced off, so to speak, for the first time. Fiorina wasn't in the first prime time debate of Republican aspirants in August. She fought her way into this one, and the pressure to prove she belonged there was intense.

She did not crack under that pressure; she rose to the occasion.

When the "face" comment came up, she dropped a simple, one-line response that landed with a boom: "I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said." It got one of the loudest rounds of applause of the night.

Trump, who should have been prepared to address the controversy, maybe even with an apology, could only muster: "I think she's got a beautiful face, and she's a beautiful woman."

Fiorina's face, that face, did not reveal what she may have been thinking as Trump, once again, gave his views on her physical appearance. She looked straight ahead, not at him, and was steady, stern and no-nonsense.

Fiorina could see boost in polls

That's how she conducted herself throughout the three-hour debate as she and Trump battled over their respective records in business, and as she rattled off, in clean and confident soundbites, how she would handle everything from Russian President Vladmir Putin to the Iran nuclear deal.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said the embattled former CEO of Hewlett-Packard "successfully took it to Donald Trump" on her appearance and on her resumé.

"Fiorina put Donald Trump in his place and forced him to walk back his comments," Bonjean observed. "In addition, her comments about Iran, Russia and America's leadership in the world means that she will likely skyrocket in the polls for her strong style, and donors might take her much more seriously," he said in an email.

The exchanges between Trump and Fiorina provided some of the more memorable moments of the evening, but there were others that stood out.

The anticipation for how Jeb Bush, who was supposed to be the frontrunner in this race, would handle Trump this time around was also high. (Speaking of high, Bush admitting that he smoked marijuana 40 years ago and that his mother is likely not happy he admitted that in front of millions of viewers was another notable moment.)

Would the former Florida governor be more aggressive compared to the last debate or avoid attacking the billionaire Trump and tout his own record instead? Bush tried to do a bit of both. There were some testy exchanges including when Bush challenged Trump to apologize to his wife, who was in the audience, for pulling her into a debate about illegal immigration earlier in the campaign. Bush's wife, who is Mexican, didn't get an apology but was told she's a lovely woman.

Carson stays low key

"Going on the attack clearly isn't his strong suit," Bonjean, who leads a Washington-based public affairs firm, said of Bush's performance. "He was strongest by demanding Trump apologize, but came off weak when he let him off the hook," he said.

Bush was more feisty than the last debate, however, and showed more personality while offering what he would and would not do if he were to follow in his father's and brother's footsteps.

Ben Carson, true to his style, was the opposite of feisty. The soft-spoken neurosurgeon has come a long way in the last six weeks, jumping into second place in the polls. In the first debate he joked about getting air time, and for this occasion, he was centre stage next to Trump. He had a prime-time opportunity to help himself stand out in the crowded field but was rather unremarkable.

"He was pretty quiet, humble, peaceful," said John Feehery, another Republican strategist, adding that Carson, "didn't hurt himself."

Carson, Trump and Fiorina are the political outsiders in the race and need to use these debates to show they have what it takes to sit in the Oval Office. Their credentials were questioned by the moderators and by their fellow candidates. While Fiorina demonstrated she had done her homework and had a good command of a range of issues, Carson and Trump were weaker.

"I will know more about the problems of this world by the time I sit," Trump responded when challenged on his foreign policy knowledge.

Senator Marco Rubio seized on the opportunity by saying the country needs someone in the White House who is ready for the job on Day One.

Rubio tried to stand out, which is the challenge for him and the other candidates struggling to break through and get the spotlight off Trump. John Kasich grabbed a lot of the air time and Scott Walker, nearly invisible in the last debate, also succeeded in stepping up his game. Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, and Ted Cruz all made their mark as best they could.

Everyone, for the most part, held their own, but of all the candidates on that stage, it is Fiorina who stands to be rewarded the most for her performance — and "that face" would be forgiven for wearing a proud smile today.