Multiple GOP Debates Don't Clarify the Picture (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Seven Republican candidates gathered for their eighth presidential primary debate Tuesday. About a dozen more shindigs are scheduled before the Iowa caucuses occur Jan. 3, unless another state moves ahead of that date and Iowa follows through on a vow to switch to December to remain first on the schedule,

One would think these multiple gatherings, made possible by the ancient wonder of cable TV news networks and the modern blunder of Twitter questions, would make us all better informed so the best candidate would emerge.

Instead, as an occasional sports fan and someone who dallies as a political junkie, this is seeming more like sports.

I feel I can speak somewhat neutrally regarding the Republican hopefuls because no matter who the GOP nominee turns out to be, I fully expect to vote again for President Barack Obama in November 2012. Therefore, I will not divert from the point of this piece by divulging whom, if I were forced to choose, I would pick from among Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum

The reason it seems like sports is the commentators. They will stay stuff like, "Perry was more aggressive tonight than he was during his poor performances in the past debates." I don't care how he looked or whether he was aggressive. Were his statements accurate? CNN's post-debate analysis contained a smidgen of fact checks on the outstanding PolitiFact website, but it mostly added up to style.

Let's keep in mind the Republican hero whose name the candidates can't seem to stop mentioning, Ronald Reagan, turned in some horrible debate performances. To be the best debater doesn't mean you'll be the best president.

And I'm not saying today's society is unusually shallow. What's best remembered about the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960 is that Nixon had a 5 o'clock shadow because he eschewed makeup. How's that for choosing the leader of the free world?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111019/us_ac/10238387_multiple_gop_debates_dont_clarify_the_picture

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