New York Times: “More than 1,300 Republican stalwarts at the Iowa state party’s Lincoln Dinner listened to the biggest field of 2016 presidential hopefuls to visit the state so far. In tightly paced speeches of 10 minutes each, 11 contenders displayed the broad spectrum of ideologies and personal styles in the party’s unsettled, chaotic race.”

“The formally dressed crowd was more subdued than the audiences at gatherings of specialized interests such as evangelical Christians. The crowd never came to its feet during the evening. Red-meat lines that draw whoops in other rooms fell flat in a cavernous convention center ballroom in downtown Des Moines.”

The Washington Post had a live blog of their remarks.

Marc Ambinder: “Republican presidential candidates have a major media problem on their hands, and it has nothing to do with partisan bias. Between the day they announce their candidacy and the night their debates begin, they will draw little to no media attention unless they blunder.”

“Blunders — be they bursts of anger at interviewers or interpretative gaffes about the Iraq War — will be the central organizing principle of media coverage. There will of course be plenty of excellent journalism committed along the way, but it will be read by people whose minds are already made up, and it shall generally be forgotten.”

Charlie Cook: “The field for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is as flat as any in modern memory—pretty remarkable for a party that usually has a fight but almost invariably ends up nominating whoever’s turn it is…”

“The flatness of this field combined with a system awash in money — with just a single billionaire able to keep a candidate in the race—should make for an exceedingly volatile Republican campaign, one that is absolutely impossible to predict.”

CNN: “They’re making their case in Washington, in the early states and even on foreign trips: The governors vying for the presidency in 2016 say that their party must nominate a candidate who has led a state. But for a handful of Republican governors eyeing the White House, their popularity at home is taking a hit.”

“Poll numbers for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have reached rock bottom as their states confront fiscal woes; the problems are particularly severe for Christie, whose reputation in the Garden State has been badly damaged by the so-called Bridgegate political scandal. And Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has seen his approval rating in his home state fall amid a divisive budget battle, even as his star has risen in national surveys.”