you won't see these folks they have businesses to run. they have passions to pursue.

how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters, ship packages, all the services of the post office right on your computer. get a 4 week trial, plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >> now it's time for the closing statements. each one has 30 seconds. senator paul. >> the greatest threat to our national security is debt. we borrow a million dollars a minute. woes fault is it in frankly, it's both party's fault. you have those on the right who clamour and say we will spend anything on the military. those on the left that say the same for domestic welfare. what most americans don't realize is there is an unholy

alliance that comes together. a secret handshake. we spend more money on everything. we are not a stronger nation if we go farther into debt wmt renot projecting power from bankruptcy court. to neither is no greater threat than our debt, i'm the only fiscal conservative on the state. i am willing to hold the line on all spending. i hope you will consider me in the elections. thank you very much. >> governor kasich. >> no republican has ever been elected president of the i think so without winning ohio. let me give you a tip on how to win ohio. it's reform, it's growth. it's opportunity. and it's security. the people of ohio are the people of america. the peep of america are reflected in ohio. our message has to be big and bold and positive and connect, fought just with people's heads, but also connect with their

hearts. if we do it, we will beat hillary clinton. we will run the white house and we will strengthen and fix america. i promise you. >> governor christie. >> september 10th, 1991, i was named chief governor. on 9/11, i lost up the with my brother for six hours and praying they were alike. luckily, they were sent home. many of our friend and others in our neighborhood lost their lives that day. terrorism, rad cam jihadist terrorism is not theoretical to me. it's real and for seven years, i spent my life protecting our country against another one of those attacks, you won't have to worry when i'm president of the united states whether they can be done. because i've already done it. i want the chance to do it again to protect you, your children and your families. if you give me your chance and your vote, i will protect america from the wars brought to

our doorstep. >> miss fiorina. >> i too remember september 11th. i remember immediately putting into place security procedures all throughout our kane that did business in 170 countries, where we thought corporate interests would be atacked next. to take our country back, to keep our nations safe, we have to begin by beating hillary clinton. we need to unify our party. we feed to be better than our government, which 75% of the american people now think is corrupt and incompetent. they're right. we need to be better than our politics. 80% think we have a professional political class of both parties that cares more about power and privilege than actually getting anything done. we need to unify our party. we need a real conservative in the white house. we need to beat hillary clinton to take our country back and keep our nation safe. i can.

i am. and together if you join me, we will take our country back. >> zboof bush. >> ask yourself, which candidate will keep you and our country safer, stronger and freer? hillary clinton has aligned herself with barack obama on isis, iran and the economy. it's an alliance doomed to fail. my proven record suggests that and my detailed plan itself will fortify our national and economic security. my proven record as governor will give you a sense i don't make false promises. i deliver real results. for america to be safe and sound, i ask for your support. thank you all very much. >> senator rubio. >> thank you. as we near the end of this year, we enter one of the most important elections in a generation. for what's at stake in this election is not simply what party will be in charge, but our very identity as a people and a nation. for over 200 years, this has been a special country. a unique place where anyone from

anywhere can achieve anything. but now, millions of americans feel like they are being left behind. insecure in their future. unsafe in the face of terror. this election is about electing a president that will restore economic vibrancy so the american dream with expand to reach more people and rebuild our military and our intelligent programs a so we can remain the strongest nation on earth. tonight i ask you for your vote. if you do this, we will rebuild this country. together we will usher in a new mernamerican era, in this great land. >> nor cruz. >> judgment, strength, clarity and trust. barack obama said he doesn't believe in american leadership winning, he is wrong. america can win again. we will win again ronald reagan

reignited the american economy, bankrupt the soviet union and defeated communism. i will do the same thing, cutting tacks, unleashing small businesses and rebuilding the military to defeat radical islamic terrorism. our strategy is simple. we win, they lose. we've done it before. and we can dot again. >> dr. carson. >> i have been fortunate enough to travel to 58 different countries and i thank god every day i was important in this country. the most exceptional country that the world has ever known. and i want to make sure that we pri serve that exception ammism for the next generation. my mother told me if i work hard, and i believed in american principles and i believe in god, anything is possible. i believe that is true. that's why i'm not anxious to give away american values and principles for the sake of political correctness.

>> mr. trump. >> our country doesn't win anymore. we don't win on trade, we don't win on the military. we can't defeat isis. we're not taking care of our great people the veterans. we're not taking care of them. we have to change our whole way. our health care system is a disaster. it's going to implode in 2017. just like you are sitting here. it doesn't work. nothing works in our country. if i'm elected president, we will win again. we will win a lot. we're going to have a great, great country, greater than ever before. thank you. >> thanks, to all the republican presidential candidates. >> that does it for this republican presidential debate. on behalf of everyone at cnn, we want to thank the candidates, bais thank the republican national committee and venetian in las vegas. we want to wish everyone a very,

merry christmas. happy holidays, especially to our soldiers, sailor, airmen and marines, protecting our nation around the . this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning. welcome to your new day. it is wednesday, december 16th, approaching 6:00 in the east. mik is in new york. allison and i are at the venetian hotel in investigate gas, baby. this is where the republican national race will have a new face because of what happened last night. nine contenders took the stage. really only two rivalries garnering headlines this morning. you got cruz-rubio that were taking it all over immigration and a slot of other issues and jeb bush landing some pun weres on donald trump. >> one of the big headlines, drumpb renewing his vow not to

run as an independent. so who are the big winners and the losers on the stage last night? and how are voters responding this morning? we have it all covered for you, the way only cnn can. john berman joins us with a look at the key moments of the debate. tell us what you saw. >> we were in this. last night, there was a two-hour debate. it wasn't one debate. remarkable. marco rubio and jeb bush heroes. interact. donald trump and marco rubio, the candidates who did zad to engage, man, oh, man, was there tension. >> this is the final republican debate before the election year begins. >> there was serious substance, like donald trump's plan too ban muslims from entering the country. >> we are not talking isolation. we are talking security. we're not talking religion, we're talking about security. >> reporter: but also serious strategy, namely the question to

throw down or not to throw down. the answer, a di fintive yes. to both. >> donald, you know, is great at the one-liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and ooed be a chaos president. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. it has been a total disaster. nobody cares. >> jeb bush taking it to donald trump, not just once. >> donald, you are not going to be able to insulture way to the presidency. that's not going to happen. >> not just twice. >> if i'm president, i will be a commander-in-chief, not an agitator in chief or a divider in chief. >> at least three times and maybe just maybe getting under his skin. >> you will never be the president of the united states by insulting your way. >> i'm at 43, are you at 3. so far i'm doing better. >> it doesn't matter. >> that was just one battle. another between ted cruz and marco rubio on several fronts. domestic under surveillance.

>> we are now at a time we need more tools, not less tools. >> that tool we lost the metadata program was a valuable too many we no longer have at our disposal. >> marco knows what he said is untrue. >> defense spending. >> three times he voted against a bill that funds the troop. >> marco continued these attacks, he knows they're untrue. >> immigration. >> an issue i lived around my whole life. my wife is an immigrant. all my neighbors are immigrants. >> reporter: the first time rubio pushed on immigration reform in a debate. >> you know there was a time for chooseing as reagan put it where there was a battle over amnesty and some shows like senator rubio to stand with barack obama and chuck schumer and support a massive amnesty plan. he was fighting to grant amnesty. i was fighting to 62 you are the border. >> carley fiorina suggested neither candidate is up to the task. >> to wage war, we need a

commander-in-chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable. not first time senators who never made an executive decision in their life. i'll add that margaret thatcher once said, if you want something talked about, ask a man. if you want something done, ask a woman. >> there was heat between chris christie and rand paul over no-fly zones in syria. >> we would shoot down the planes of russian pilots, if, in fact, they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weakling the president we have in the oval office is right now. >> i think if you are in favor of world war i, you have your ktd. here's the thing. >> but for all the insult itself hurled, there were also hugs, retorical. >> we will build a wall that works and i'll get donald trump to pay for it. >> and quite literal, between donald trump and ted cruz. the current front runners, who

just plain refuse to rumble. >> if he was a maniac. >> i got to know him over the last three or four days. he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> reporter: his strongest disavow yet of a third party run. >> i'm totally committed to the republican party. i feel honored to be the front-runner. >> okay. a lot to talk about. john berman, stay with us. we also want to bring in our cnn national political reporter maeve reston and senior political analyst and editorial director for the national journal, ron brownstein. what was your takeaway? >> it was a terrific debate. i've been covering presidential debates for a long time. it was crisp, informative and teased out subtle differences. the cruz/rubio showdown was center stage. trump was more measured than presidential i've seen him. it was t