Republican Jeb Bush survives debate with steady performance

A steadfast performance by Jeb Bush during the Nov. 10 Republican debate has halted the sense of desperation around his U.S. presidential campaign and may buy him time to counter the rise of chief rival Marco Rubio. 

The fourth Republican debate in the search for a 2016 presidential nominee was characterized by a steady stream of attacks against front-runner Donald Trump and mistake-free performances by Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, two up-and-coming U.S. senators in the race. 

But the most relieved candidate after the two-hour encounter inside the Milwaukee Theatre was Bush, the former Florida governor who was outclassed in the three previous debates and has suffered an erosion of support from Republican voters and a drop-off in financial donations. 

Trump, a billionaire businessman who has led opinion polls in the Republican race for months, gave Bush an opening when he said it was okay with him if Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]," in Syria and Iraq. 

Bush, who mostly steered clear of attacking his rivals after previous attempts had fallen flat, quickly interjected. 

"We're not going to be the world's policemen, but we sure as heck better be the world's leader," Bush said, saying Trump's views of Putin and his policies in Syria were "like a board game. That's like playing Monopoly or something. That's not how the real world works." 

That Bush was able to stop the bleeding may give him time to regain his footing in the unpredictable Republican race with the next debate more than a month away, on Dec. 15 in Las Vegas. Bush is campaigning on Nov. 11 in Iowa, which on Feb. 1 holds the first nominating contest of the...