"Every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber,” Nikki Haley said at the second Republican presidential primary debate last night. She was talking to Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman currently polling at an average of about 6% among likely Republican voters. But she could have been talking about any one of the seven candidates: Haley, Ramaswamy, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former vice-president Mike Pence and the North Dakota governor, Doug Burgum. The debate was rancorous, chaotic and punctured by statements so hateful, outlandish and extreme that they made an impression even by the current Republican party’s very low standards.
"Worst of all, the whole thing was pointless: Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls by more than 40 points, was not there. The candidates, wannabes, also-rans and cynical self-promoters, spent much of the evening attacking each other. But for the most part, they did not attack him.
"Donald Trump’s absence was, like in the first Republican debate, the most significant presence on the stage. As indictments, debts and civil judgements against the former president accumulate, and as his bluster and vulgarity lose their novelty and capacity to shock, there has been some suggestion that perhaps Trump will disqualify himself from running for president. Can a candidate make a credible bid for the presidency while also being charged with dozens of felonies? Can Trump persuade voters – of whom a majority have never voted for him, and who turned on him in large numbers just four years ago? These are legitimate questions, but they are questions for a general election: they are not relevant in the primary. Neither charges, nor convictions, nor legal judgments, nor mounting attorney’s fees will cause Trump to withdraw or lose significant support. His followers are immune to facts, and he is immune to shame. Barring his death, he will be the Republican nominee. His shadow loomed over the candidates onstage at the Reagan library like former Air Force One, which hung from the mezzanine above their line of gleaming podiums. One was tempted to imagine, more than once, what would happen if it fell." . . .
We're All A Little Dumber After Tv's Political Debate Survivor Show. Now What? - Bing News "Dana Perino’s final question in last night’s cacophonous Republican debate summed up the whole sordid spectacle.
"Saying that Donald Trump would run away with the nomination if everyone on stage stayed in the race, she asked the seven candidates to vote one of their number “off the island” and out of the contest.
"This was a game show as far as the moderators were concerned.
"The candidates — led by Ron DeSantis, who objected first and loudest — refused to play along." . . .
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