OP-ED: Some thoughts on the second GOP presidential debate
The second debate of Republican presidential candidates took place last Wednesday.
Republicans seem to have a continuing desire to waste great opportunities to present their top candidates and to lay out clear and meaningful policy alternatives to the disaster in the White House. There is no reason to load the stage with candidates who do not have even a remote chance of winning the primary.
Yes, they are all good people and they all have some good points, but collectively the exercise inevitably degenerates into something that more resembles “The View” than it does a serious discussion of issues. Even a two-hour time slot is insufficient to allow seven people, all of whom are trying to stand out and make sure they get their share of air time, to make cogent points and convey a Republican message.
This has now happened twice. Let’s learn something.
This fiasco was compounded by the second set of incompetent moderators who failed to maintain control of the situation. Just by way of asking, why did we need a Spanish-speaking moderator who was, at times, difficult to understand?
This was the second debate, so what were people looking for? The first debate introduced the candidates. We are past that. Right now, the American people want to know what specific plans each of the candidates propose to solve some very obvious problems. It is time to be specific. I heard very few specifics. Commonsense proposals would be well received, not convoluted and difficult-to-understand speeches. Voters are anxious about a number of issues including the economy, immigration, China and inflation. Precious little time was spent actually addressing these issues, not that the moderators didn’t try. The candidates had an opportunity to give voters their vision of how they would address these critical issues and, by in large, failed to deliver much detail. They tried to take serious points and either wrap them in shots at their rivals or into what they thought were humorous quips.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is an eloquent speaker and probably delivered the most powerful moment of the evening when he spoke of the Great Society and its impact on minorities, but both he and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy had trouble staying on point.
The abortion issue was discussed superficially and the group escaped with no major wounds. But someone better come up with a coherent policy to campaign on.
Former Vice President Mike Pence had a good response on economics but never followed up with detailed plans. If the candidates spent as much time researching policy as they apparently spent on doing opposition research, it would have been a much better debate.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was very annoying with his constant interrupting. He made some good points, but he blew any connection with the audience. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had some worthwhile things to say but she has no bedside manner.
Ranking the candidates from best to worst, for general content, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was at the top, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was at the bottom. Haley was in the middle. For quality of response, Ramaswamy was top, Christie was worst and Haley was in the middle. Ability to make a point, DeSantis was at the top, Christie was worst and Scott was in the middle. Staying on point, DeSantis was best, Christie was worst and Scott was in the middle. Overall demeanor, Scott was top, Christie was worst and Pence was in the middle. Relating to the audience, DeSantis was top, Christie was at the bottom and Pence was in the middle. Overall, DeSantis was best, Ramaswamy was second, Scott was third, Haley was fourth, Pence was fifth, Burgum sixth and Christie seventh.
Let it be said that all seven of the candidates on the stage would be infinitely better than the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
What was missed? There was very little discussion of the failures of Bidenomics and what the candidates would do to correct those failures. China was discussed, but no meaningful proposals emerged with any detail.
Before the next debate, set for Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Miami, the field needs to be pruned regardless of whether they meet the current criteria to be included, which are standing at 4% or better in two national polls and 70,000 donors. While there were no “defining moments” or breakouts in this debate, it is quite apparent that Pence, Christie and Doug Burgum need to go. While Haley has already met the criteria, she needs to go, simply because she has no realistic chance at winning the nomination.
It is time for former President Donald Trump to step in. Set the stage with DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Scott, and then add Trump. For better or for worse, the other candidates deserve a chance to be on stage with him. Trump is 41 points ahead of DeSantis and 47.7 points ahead of Haley and Ramaswamy in one poll. President Joe Biden’s approval Rating is -16%. Unless something really earthshaking occurs, Trump will be the Republican nominee. It is hard to see any other candidate with a path to the nomination.
On the other side, I sincerely doubt that either Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee. In fact, it is hard to see Biden finishing this term.
The Democrats are in a world of hurt. They have no obvious candidate. They have no painless way to get rid of Biden, but they need to position whoever their nominee will be.
This discussion is not over by a long shot.
Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.