The theatrical drama of the first Republican debate Thursday focused on the man at center stage in Cleveland, Donald Trump, and the bombastic rhetoric he has used to propel himself to the front of the GOP field.
But when the Republicans return to the same arena next summer for their convention, it is extremely unlikely that Trump will be the party's nominee, given that a wide swath of the party, particularly its elected officials, finds him unacceptable.
So even as the Fox News moderators grappled with the billionaire real estate developer over his history of bankruptcies, past support for Democratic politicians and sometimes offensive statements, a separate and probably more consequential debate was taking place among the other candidates about which of two competing paths the party should follow to win the 2016 election.