By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

Good Friday morning. THE CONVERSATION: Marco Rubio helped himself the most. He was disappointed he didn’t get a foreign-policy question, where he was primed to shine. But he had several adult moments, including our fave: “[I]f this election is a resume competition, then Hillary Clinton’s gonna be the next president, because she’s been in office and in government longer than anybody else running here tonight. .. This election better be about the future, not the past. ... If I’m our nominee, we will be the party of the future.”

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John Kasich and Carly Fiorina bask in pundit love. The Trump bubble will burst: His “F” answer to Megyn Kelly’s clever question put him on the wrong side of  women.

Reporters thought Jeb was jittery, flat. His camp says the mission was to appear “presidential, aspirational. Conservative Record + Optimistic Vision. Took tough Qs that could’ve bogged down (Common Core, Trump) and instead hit his conservative record (that lots of people don’t know about) and an optimistic vision for how the country can grow economically.”

--Rubio campaign manager Terry Sullivan emails supporters: “Marco rocked Cleveland tonight. ... a new generation conservative who can unite the party and inspire the country.”

EXCLUSIVE – FRANK LUNTZ narrative from his dial-group results in Cleveland last night: “[W]e hosted 23 Republican voters, 20 of whom were undecided ... Being Donald Trump made him the front-runner, but tonight his act wore thin. He lowered the level of political discourse, and participants were really disappointed. The theme from our session: Dump Trump. ... Bush ... finished at the back of the pack in almost every question we asked. ... His dial scores were flat, and participants felt he lacked the passion they want ...

“Who showed they are best prepared to be president on day one? Ted Cruz ... scored well ... because of ... intelligence and courage. ... Which candidate would you choose to have a beer with? Marco Rubio ... [W]omen ... universally found him ‘attractive.’ ... Was there a candidate you would want to teach your kids’ junior high civics class? Ted Cruz. ... Which candidate would you hire to run your company? Donald Trump. ... Who was in the minors, but earned a call to the majors? Carly Fiorina.” Frank’s 2-pager http://bit.ly/1Usof5d

GLENN THRUSH’s 7 takeaways: “1. Jeb was meh. ... 2. Trump’s act is wearing thin – especially with women ... 3. Paging Ted Cruz. ... 4. The real Trump effect: Lots of fireworks, less substance. ... 5. John Kasich is emerging as a top-tier candidate. ... 6. Rand Paul needed to attack – and he did [Christie]. 7. Scott Walker was so-so – but had the best line of the night. ... ‘[P]robably the Russian and Chinese government know more about Hillary Clinton’s email server than do the members of the United States Congress.’” http://politi.co/1OUJMQr

TWEETS DU JOUR: @AriFleischer: “It’s going to be a long race. Tonight is the first of many events and Iowa isn’t until February. It’s going to take a while 2sort this out.” ... @stephenfhayes: “Rubio and Christie did very well. Walker, Kasich were solid. Jeb Bush seemed nervous, halting. Trump was a clown-show.” ... ‏@pourmecoffee: “That was like a Game of Thrones episode. I'm going to have to see it again to figure out who’s dead.” ...

Garrett Jackson ‏(@dgjackson, former Romney body guy): “Tip to Ted Cruz, Scott Walker and Trump’s teams from an old pro..ease up on the boss’s makeup.” ... @JoshSchwerin: “Thank you Marco Rubio for telling the world Hillary Clinton is the most qualified candidate for president!” ... @BuzzFeedBen: “Roger Ailes clearly the winner of this. This is really good TV.” ... @ezraklein: “Rubio is better at delivering his story than any other GOPer and better at selling Republican policies.”

THE POLITICO CAUCUS: Our poll of Iowa, N.H. insiders -- “Trump is biggest loser: Insiders ... rated Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as the winners,” by Katie Glueck: “Keep an eye on John Kasich. ... Rand Paul bombed.” http://politi.co/1hmTqk5

SHOT -- DAN BALZ “The Take” column on WashPost A1, “For now, The Donald remains on top”: “[T]he others ... might be forced to recalibrate their assessments of whether Trump is a comet flashing across the political skies or someone who eventually will have to be confronted directly in order to stop him. The evening showed that the Republicans have a field of candidates potentially capable of stopping him.” http://wapo.st/1ghvn5a

CHASER -- FRANK BRUNI: “Trump lost: He said nothing, not one syllable, that infused his candidacy with any of the gravitas that it sorely needs ... Bush avoided any gaffes and discovered a bit of the spark that he often lacks. John Kasich charted a humane midcourse for Republicans trying to reconcile personal misgivings over same-sex marriage with how the Supreme Court has ruled.” http://nyti.ms/1KUUW9P

DEBATE TRANSCRIPT, annotated by WashPost http://wapo.st/1DySq6e

PRINT HEADLINES: NYT 1-col. lead, “RIVALS HIT TRUMP AS G.O.P. DEBATE BECOMES TESTY ... New York Businessman Declines to Rule Out Third-Party Run” ... WSJ 5-col. lead, under photo, “Rivals Hold Raucous Debate: GOP front-runner Trump reaps ire, applause for his lack of political correctness” ... WashPost 5-col. lead, “Trump roils GOP’s first debate: Mogul sets a raucous tone, calls nations’ leaders ‘stupid’” ... USA Today, “GOP GETS RAUCOUS IN PRIME-TIME DEBATE: Trump won’t rule out third-party candidacy and slams culture that’s too ‘politically correct’” ... L.A. Times, “A GOP fray, with Trump at the center.”

WHAT THE EARLY STATES ARE READING: Des Moines Register banner, “Trump commands spotlight: N.Y. businessman is only Republican in field who refuses to say he’d support party’s nominee” ...  N.H. Union Leader, “Trump comes out swinging” ... Boston Globe, cols. 1-3, “Trump at center ... Only debater who won’t commit to backing nominee” ... Las Vegas Review Journal, “GOP hopefuls emphasize conservative themes: Front-runner Trump declines to rule out independent bid.”

** A message from Qualcomm: First, we connected billions of phones to the Internet. Now Qualcomm is bringing wireless connectivity to everything— from watches and refrigerators to cars and ultrasound machines—helping deliver intelligence and interoperability to the ecosystem to fully connect every aspect of life. Why Wait™. http://bit.ly/1Gw9FCU

WORTH THE CLICK -- “Bush accidentally leaks his debate attack plan,” by Eli Stokols in Cleveland: “Bush’s campaign inadvertently posted pages featuring bullet points contrasting his own record with that of Scott Walker and Marco Rubio. Those pages have since been taken down. The page titled ‘Jeb Bush v. Marco Rubio’ (screen-grabbed by a DNC staffer) includes: ... ‘Marco Rubio has sponsored just one bill that has become law’; ‘Rubio has sponsored only two bills that have passed the Senate’; ‘Rubio has the highest rate of missed votes of any senator over the course of his career.’ The nearly identical page focused on Walker says ‘the only job Scott Walker cares about creating is his own.’” http://politi.co/1J0Enc1 The screenshot http://bit.ly/1IRIZiI

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- Today “is the last day for Betsey Stevenson. She has been a CEA Member for the last two years, a major force in the administration’s push on working families, and she is going back to the University of Michigan as Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

“It is also the last day for Jessica Schumer ... [who has served] in the White House for the last five years, the last two of them as chief of staff of the Council of Economic Advisers, where she has combined economics, strategy, management, and a deep commitment to promoting the middle class (sound familiar?). She is returning to Brooklyn to be chief of staff of the Robin Hood Foundation, dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City.”

--“Michael Greenwald of the Treasury Department celebrated his departure happy hour at the Hay Adams on Wednesday in true Greenwald fashion. Michael has spent the past three years as the Policy Advisor for European within the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Crimes. Greenwald will be moving to Doha in the Middle East to serve as the United States’ Treasury Attache to Qatar and Kuwait.”

WASHINGTON, INC. – “Private Equity’s Top Washington Lobbyist to Step Down,” by Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly: Steve “Judge, 61, plans to leave the post Aug. 15, he wrote in a letter to members of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council.” http://bloom.bg/1gga8km

HARVARD IOP RESIDENT FELLOWS for fall – “Brent Colburn ... Former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) ... Candy Crowley Former anchor and Chief Political Correspondent, CNN. ... Doug Heye Deputy Chief of Staff (Communications) for U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (2012-14) ... Lindiwe Mazibuko Member of Parliament, South Africa (2009-14) ... Wendy Sherman Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State (2011-present) ... Scott Smith Mayor, Mesa, AZ (2008-14); President, U.S. Conference of Mayors (2013-14) ... Visiting Fellows: Cornell Belcher President, Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies; Pollster, Obama for President (2012, 2008) ... Tom DeFrank Contributing Editor, National Journal.” http://bit.ly/1Du60br

GAME CHANGE – NYT A1, bottom of page, “Schumer Opposes Iran Nuclear Deal, Shaking Democratic Firewall,” by Jonathan Weisman and Jennifer Steinhauer: “‘Advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view that cannot simply be dismissed,’ Mr. Schumer ... said in a lengthy statement ... paves the way for other Democrats on the fence to join Republicans in showing their disapproval.” http://nyti.ms/1hmHcYS

--N.Y. POST wood, “CHUCK NO! He’ll vote nay on Iran deal.” http://bit.ly/1uTkiZw

--DAVID BROOKS, “3 U.S. Defeats: Vietnam, Iraq and Now Iran”: “There have now been three big U.S. strategic defeats over the past several decades: Vietnam, Iraq and now Iran. ... Iran is a fanatical, hegemonic, hate-filled regime. If you think its radicalism is going to be softened by a few global trade opportunities, you really haven’t been paying attention to the Middle East over the past four decades. ...  As the end of the nuclear delay comes into view, the 45th or 46th president will decide that action must be taken.” http://nyti.ms/1hmQSm3

FOURTH QUARTER – “Obama heading for Martha’s Vineyard vacation a day early ... Arrival on Martha’s Vineyard scheduled for 6:20 p.m.,” by AP’s Darlene Superville: “for more than two weeks of hoped-for rest coupled with extended pursuit of ... golf. ... He was leaving the White House [this] afternoon with ... Michelle, ... Malia and Sasha, instead of on Saturday as initially planned. Obama plans no public events during the 17 days ...

“The vacation will be his sixth on the Vineyard since taking office in 2009. Obama skipped a trip to the island during his 2012 re-election campaign. He was returning to the same secluded estate he rented last year, a seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom property in Chilmark, on the western part of the island, and valued at $12 million ... The property’s amenities include a dual basketball and tennis court.” http://yhoo.it/1JQm5sS

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SUNDAY SO FAR:

--“Meet the Press”: Sen. Marco Rubio ... Sen. Claire McCaskill ... Panel: David Brooks, Hugh Hewitt, Heather McGhee (President, Demos)

--“Face the Nation”: Sen. Bernie Sanders ... Ben Carson ... Cornell William Brooks of the NAACP ... Panel: Jonathan Martin, Ed O’Keefe, Mike Gerson and Susan Page

2016 PLAYERS -- “Clinton’s $2 Billion Money Man,” by The Daily Beast’s David Freedlander: “Dennis Cheng, the finance director of Hillary Clinton’s ... campaign, ... is serious, soft-spoken, ... [and] exceptionally close to Hillary.” http://thebea.st/1J0DTCL

--“Democrats set debate schedule,” by Gabe Debenedetti and Dylan Byers: “[S]ix debates are scheduled, with six different sponsors: Oct. 13 in Nevada (hosted by CNN); Nov. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa (CBS/KCCI and The Des Moines Register); Dec. 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire (ABC/WMUR); Jan. 17 in Charleston, South Carolina (NBC/Congressional Black Caucus Institute); and two scheduled for either February or March in Miami and Wisconsin, hosted by Univision/The Washington Post, and PBS.” http://politi.co/1KTGXON

SOCIAL 2016: Top debate moment, per official Facebook analytics: Chris Christie-Rand Paul interaction on the NSA ... Top issues: 1. Immigration 2. Racial issues 3. The economy 4. Education 5. Abortion. ... Top candidates discussed: 1. Donald Trump 2. Ben Carson 3. Rand Paul 4. Mike Huckabee 5. Chris Christie.

--“7.5 million people throughout Facebook in the U.S. made 20 million interactions (likes, posts, comments and shares) related to the debate.”

--Top moments on Twitter, per official analytics: “1. Rand Paul and Chris Christie go head to head about 9/11 and Hugs. ... 2. Trump references Hillary Clinton coming to his wedding and telling Rand: ‘I didn't say that -- you're having a hard time tonight’ ... 3. Trump responds to question about negative language towards women. ... 4. Closing Statements begin ... 5. Moderators ask candidates whether or not they had a word from God.”

--Twitter, % of conversation: 1. Donald Trump 30.38% ... 2. Ben Carson 11.97% ... 3. Rand Paul 9.84% ... 4. Mike Huckabee 8.89% ... 5. John Kasich 8.36% ... 6. Ted Cruz        8.11% ... 7. Jeb Bush 6.74% ... 8. Scott Walker 5.98% ... 9. Marco Rubio 5.35% ... 10. Chris Christie 4.39%.

INSTAGRAM DU JOUR -- @hillaryclinton: “New friends. [with] @kimkardashian”: http://bit.ly/1IuEJlG

POLITICO MAGAZINE -- “The Debate’s Biggest Winners–And Losers: 22 political experts give their snap reactions”: Rich Lowry: ‘Trump lost … Almost everyone else did well.’ ... Jonah Goldberg: ‘The biggest shock of the night—and arguably the most consequential development—was Jeb Bush’s failure to shine.’ ... Tim Carney: ‘The undisputed winner was Carly Fiorina.’ ... Rick Wilson: ‘Rank and file GOP voters (I was in a room full of them) were horrified by the 3rd party blackmail from Trump.’ ... Larry Sabato: ‘Only Trump bombed.’ ... Mark McKinnon: ‘The Trump balloon is likely to lose air.’ ... Bob Shrum: ‘Trump not only survived but thrived.’ ... Mary Matalin: ‘Trump has no depth. One word: HUH?’ ... Ed Kilgore: ‘Fox News took as its mission bringing The Donald down.’ ... Brett O’Donnell: ‘Marco Rubio had a big night as did Mike Huckabee.’ ...

... Anita Dunn: ‘The Democratic Party and eventual Democratic nominee are the clearest winners’ ... Matt K. Lewis: ‘The winners were the cosmopolitan conservatives—mainly Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush. And I think Kasich probably exceeded expectations, too.’ ... Jeff Greenfield: ‘Among some Republicans, there’s going to be a fair amount of buzz about a Kasich-Rubio ticket.’ ... Bruce Bartlett: ‘[Trump] was the only candidate who came across as an authentic depiction of himself.’ ... Donna Brazile: ‘Trump will still dominate the conversation until the next debate.’ http://politi.co/1K6LKJA

--“The Freshest Takes On The GOP Debate: Rubio and Fiorina impress, Trump flails and nobody notices Ben Carson,” by Jonah Shepp: A roundup of debate takeaways by pundits including Matthew Continetti, Jim Geraghty, Rod Dreher, Josh Marshall, Nate Silver, Nate Cohn, Kevin Drum, Rosie Gray, Jonathan Chait, Josh Keating, more http://politi.co/1OUGahi

POPULAR POLITICO STORY: “Trump’s 9 craziest comments,” by Isabelle Taft -- expanded from early in debate: “Trump’s 5 craziest moments (so far)” http://politi.co/1KUEiXU

PALACE INTRIGUE (literally) -- GABE SHERMAN on NYMag.com, “The Trump Campaign Has Descended Into Civil War — Even Ivanka Has Gotten Involved”: “At Trump Tower, rival staff members are vying to exert control over the campaign in a power struggle that’s every bit as vitriolic as Trump himself. The battle lines are drawn between the longtime aides who have advised Trump for years and the new hires who have joined the staff in recent months. ... The conflict between the old guard and the new began in January when Trump hired a brash 40-year-old Republican operative named Corey Lewandowski to serve as campaign manager.” http://nym.ag/1K69k9t

--“I Overdosed on Donald Trump: What I learned from 24 hours of mainlining the breakout 2016 candidate,” by Adam Wren on Politico: “From 3:30 p.m. on [a recent] Saturday to a little past 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, I spent nearly 16 hours trapped in a ... $625 spa guestroom inside the Trump hotel; listened to close to 10 hours of three Trump audiobooks; ... streamed hours of the Trump-hosted NBC show ‘The Apprentice’ ... This, all while sometimes wearing a paisley Trump Collection tie.” http://politi.co/1HuqDPA

--JONATHAN KARL, “Trump Once Proposed the Biggest Tax Hike Ever”: “The year was 1999 and Trump was toying with the idea of running for President as a third party candidate. The idea ... was to impose a one-time tax of 14.25 percent on every American worth more than $10 million and raise exactly enough money to pay off the debt. Trump himself would have had to pay more than $700 million.” http://abcn.ws/1SWcmqV

MIKE SHIELDS, president of Congressional Leadership Fund and former RNC Chief of Staff, emails Playbook in response to Matt Miller’s story yesterday on soccer and GOP candidates: “As someone who grew up in England - and who routinely annoys my friends with my fanatical love of soccer, I have been asked by a few people if I had a response ... The best soccer comparison for the Democratic Primary is FIFA and its leader, Sepp Blatter. ... Can Joe Biden save FIFA?” http://bit.ly/1ggYEgl (h/t @rebeccamark)

TRAILERS OF THE DAY – “Vinyl, a new drama series from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter, debuts in 2016 on HBO” http://bit.ly/1UrwZbS  ... “Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt’s Troubled Marriage in ‘By The Sea’” http://yhoo.it/1M9DAoo

LATE-NIGHT BEST: “Every Correspondent Ever Returns for Stewart’s Final Daily Show Open” http://bit.ly/1IuEx65  ... “Colbert Makes Jon Stewart Cry with Moving Tribute” http://bit.ly/1MRlKYI

--BILL O’REILLY in Deadline, “A Jon Stewart Appreciation”: “Far more than a comedian dependent upon a squad of jaded writers, Stewart actually thinks about things from time to time. He’s good at spotting phonies and is quick with a quip when challenged. I always looked forward to verbally jousting with the man even though, at times, I confused him with facts and I felt bad doing it. ... Unlike some of his soulmates, Jon Stewart is not a malicious man by nature.” http://yhoo.it/1MRkTYf

FUTURE OF MEDIA -- “Media stocks slammed as pay TV bundle starts unravelling,” by AP’s Ryan Nakashima: “Signs that pay TV’s pricy bundles of channels are starting to unravel finally took a toll on major media companies. ... Disney's stock dropped 11 percent since Tuesday ... Over two days, Viacom fell 21 percent, Time Warner dropped 10 percent, Discovery Communications slumped 9 percent, Twenty-First Century Fox fell 13 percent and Comcast fell 6 percent.” http://yhoo.it/1HurBLI

MEDIAWATCH – “FT appoints Demetri Sevastopulo Washington bureau chief”: “Sevastopulo joined the FT in 2002, after working for Bloomberg and Citi in Japan. He covered Washington for the next seven years ... and spent five years in Hong Kong as the FT’s Asia news editor and South China correspondent. Most recently, he was US political correspondent. ... Sevastopulo succeeds Megan Murphy, who is leaving the FT.”

--“Bloomberg Editor Appoints [FT DC bureau chief Megan Murphy as] New D.C. Bureau Chief In Hope For ‘New Beginning,’” by HuffPost’s Michael Calderone: “Murphy will report to senior executive editor Marty Schenker, who will move from New York to Washington to oversee global coverage of government, politics and economics. In the memo, Bloomberg editor in chief John Micklethwait said the company’s ‘priority in Washington is to get the whole bureau to work as one team.’” http://huff.to/1KUls2X

--“New York Times Passes One Million Digital Subscriber Milestone” – “less than four-and-a-half years after launching its pay model. This number is in addition to its 1.1 million print-and-digital subscribers.” http://bit.ly/1ggazv1

--“Bret Baier Reflects on His Southern Roots,” by Travis M. Andrews in Southern Living: “Baier was raised in the small suburb of Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. After attending college in Indiana, he worked in Rockford, Illinois and Raleigh, North Carolina before being hired to work in FOX’s Atlanta bureau (which led him to Washington, D.C.). [He’s covered] loggerhead turtles in Hilton Head, during which he had to rush the days tapes to a prop plane in Beauford, South Carolina ... [and tended] bar at the Circle Café in D.C.’s Union Station.” http://bit.ly/1K68Dgp

REMEMBERING TYLER DRUMHELLER – WashPost’s Greg Miller: “Tyler S. Drumheller, a high-level CIA officer who publicly battled agency leaders over one of the most outlandish claims in the U.S. case for war with Iraq, died Aug. 2.” http://wapo.st/1ggadoc

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Pat Reap of Bloomberg (h/t Pam Stevens)

BIRTHDAYS: CNN’s Matt Dornic ... Mary Kathryn Steel, the pride of Meridian, Miss., and director U.S. media relations at Sanofi … Reason’s Nick Gillespie is 52 ... CNN’s Dan Merica, the pride and joy of Las Vegas, is 27, celebrating in Seattle ahead of Bernie Sanders rally this weekend (h/ts girlfriend Ashley Killough and Sara Fischer) ... Christie finance chairman Ray Washburne ... NYT’s Sara Fischer, a CNN and Politico alum (h/t Olivia Petersen) ... Politico’s Elizabeth Brandler … FBI Director Robert Mueller is 71 ... Alan Keyes is 65 ... Caitlin Legacki of Precision Strategies … George Kelemen, SVP of gov’t and political affairs at Airports Council International-North America ... Dan Groch … The Atlantic’s Scott Stossel ... former FBI Director Robert Mueller … Kim Molstre … Cynthia Wieland-Meyer ... newly hired NextGen Climate political director Kim Rogers, a UFCW alum …

Andrew DeSouza, senior Manager for corporate comms at the Institute of International Finance and a Bush Treasury and SIFMA alum … GMMB’s Susan Feeney ... TJ Londagin ... Alexis Glick ... Kirsten Borman, principal at fundraising firm KB Strategic Group ... Matt Lehner, comms. director for FRA acting administrator Sarah Feinberg, is 29 (h/t Evan Jurkovich) ... Kimberly Willingham ... Meredith Griffanti … M. Allyn Brooks-LaSure … Alexis Glick … Cynthia Wieland-Meyer … Bill Lawrence ... Alan Portner ... magician James Randi is 87 ... Garrison Keillor is 73 ... Wayne Knight (Newman on “Seinfeld”) is 60 ... actor David Duchovny is 55 ... Charlize Theron is 40 ... actor-writer Brit Marling is 33 (h/ts AP)

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