I think Ted Cruz had a problematic week, but I do not think it has impacted him negatively with his base. The most interesting observation to be made this coming week and over this past weekend is what Ted Cruz does with and how he treats those who like him, but were willing to also be critical of his performance on television talk shows. If Cruz gets into a bunker mentality where any criticism is an attack and a signal of opposition to him instead of treating it as constructive, he may not last.
As Cruz moves into first place, understanding that not all criticism is opposition and not all kind words are from friends is going to become vital. Some will say kind things about a candidate in order to harm the candidate, see e.g. Putin endorsing Trump, and some people will be critical of candidates they like because they think their candidate needs to do better. A paranoid campaign is going to lash out at all criticism, no matter how well intended the criticism is.
Cruz enters this phase of the campaign because he has the best chance of becoming the nominee at this point. He does so for several reasons....
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