Editorial: The great debate debate
Memo to the Republican presidential candidates: Be careful what you wish for ...
Yes, the CNBC debate was outrageous and rightfully lampooned from the stage by both Sen. Ted Cruz and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. And frankly making fun of dumb, gotcha questions is pretty much the best way to deal with them.
So now the Republican National Committee, which had earlier agreed to the torturous debate schedule, canceled an upcoming one with NBC and Telemundo, presumably to punish the parent network for the sins of its business cable branch. And representatives of 10 of the candidates came up with their own list of demands for future debates to be sent off to the networks.
The "demands" at their core would siphon whatever liveliness exists in such things, reduce "debates" to little more than joint appearances and send viewers racing for their remotes. For example, the letter demands opening and closing statements of "at least" 30 seconds. The only thing that accomplishes is allowing viewers ample time to get a cold beer from the fridge before settling in. Nothing, nothing is quite so boring as opening and closing statements.
A "lightning round" of questions designed for quick yes or no answers, also banned. So too questions from one candidate to another. Oh and they want equal speaking time and an equal number of questions for each candidate. Not a Mike Huckabee fan? Well, again great time to hit the fridge.
Then the demands really got into Never-Never Land stuff, like pre-approval of graphics and the stage set-up. Oh, and our personal favorite, a room temperature of no more than 67 degrees - giving new meaning to the phrase, never let 'em see you sweat.
The campaigns of Donald Trump, Christie, Carly Fiorina and John Kasich refused to sign the letter.
Trump said yesterday, "I want a room. I want a podium." Oh and he'd like "fair" questions.
For once he's actually on the right track.
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