At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Tom Paine ·
October 25, 2011 at 1:16am
Over at NRO, Bob Costa reports that Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain have agreed upon a Lincoln/Douglas style debate on entitlement reform. Gutsy move from both candidates, and a very welcome step away from the inane format with which we've suffered for too long.
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Aug '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Palaeologus:
Romney is still the favorite. By miles.
Real Clear Politics averages.
Cain leads. Romney, close second. Perry, distant third.
Jun '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
I think its great that Newt and Cain in agreeing to these debates are acknowledging that the general public has a degree of intelligence.
The politicians can snipe at each other in the American Idol popularity form. All of candidates should step up and join the fray. Forget the focus groups and consultants.
Do not underestimate Herman Cain. He is a quality commodity. He is not opposed to letting his guard down and letting people know who he is. Herman Cain, if he was in athletics, would be the greatest utility ballplayer ever. He is versatile. He is a winner whether he gets the nomination or not. At the least, there will be some great conservative speeches from Cain this election cycle.
My prediction on the final Republican pairing:
Romney-Rubio or
Cain-Ryan or
Perry-McDonnell
Edited on October 25, 2011 at 4:35amAug '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Newt is no dummy, he knows that he has a shot at taking his turn as the not-Romney candidate, a seat which Cain currently holds. If Newt can hasten Cain's fall he will also hasten his own ascent.
Jul '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
DrewInWisconsin
Palaeologus:
Romney is still the favorite. By miles.
Real Clear Politics averages.
Cain leads. Romney, close second. Perry, distant third. · Oct 24 at 6:58pm
Fair enough, but I'm not too keen on crediting national polls for state races, conducted amongst people who've never heard of the candidates.
You may as well ask people if they prefer flat-iron steaks to top-blade chuck steaks.
I'll take the guy with the organization and the not so great past who is the massive favorite among folks who are actually making wagers.
Dec '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Absolutely. As many have said here before, the debates are Newts vehicle. I see this more as the potential of Newt ascension rather than Cains downfall, though the two may coincide.
I wonder, are the American people ready for this? Do they have the attention span for this? Though the Lincoln Douglas debate is the standard for this sort of affair, are we not more geared for 5, 10 or 15 minute interchanges?
Apr '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Palaeologus
Cain is a front-runner in the sense that the rabbit in a 5k is the front-runner. · Oct 24 at 6:49pm
According to the link, a front-runner and a pace-maker are mutually exclusive, although ostensible pace-makers have gone on to win.
Jun '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
Newt and Cain are on the same team. Not to say they won't spar. They share the same views and values on the whole.
Apr '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
What if Newt were to accept a role as the conscience of conservatism? If he were to debate each of the candidates in turn?
Imagine him testing every one of contenders.
I like your thinking on this.
Sep '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
I'm a little surprised that so many assume that Newt will shine in this forum. Remember the last time he went freestyle on entitlement reform? Right wing social engineering anyone? In the one gameshow debate I watched, Newt was asked directly about entitlements. His response was that we "need to have a national conversation." Game on.
Oct '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
somebody ask newt again about his thoughts on the ryan plan.
Mar '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
A good opportunity for Mr Cain to sharpen his debating skills, in preparation for the ultimate debate against the used car salesman.
Mar '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
A Cain-Newt Debate sounds like an invasive pest breakout session at the Sugar Planters' Association Convention.
Apr '11
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
1. Ideally, perhaps, this won't be seen by a heck of a lot of people; little downside risk. It will, however, be widely reported on, making both the candidates appearing seem more adult, and the party as a whole.
2. I don't know if everyone will end up doing this this time round (only 2 months to go), but it seems certain that it will dominate the 2016 races, as everyone will prefer the candidates that do it. At the very least, refusal would be a mark against them. Blue Ant is 100% right. If a more prestigous pairing isn't available right now, Bachmann-Paul seems like a good pairing, both in terms of exploring interesting issues and getting decent viewership on the web (although I fear Bachmann will not fare well in the comments, assuming anyone can comment; I expect Gingrich-Paul, Reagan-Paul, and Lincoln-Paul would all appear to be decisive Paul victories on online polls).
BlueAnt:
Paging Rob Long and Peter Robinson: steal this idea. Co-opt the Tea Party apparatus, slap the Ricochet name up there, build a brand in intelligent discourse! · Oct 24 at 5:07pm
Sep '10
Re: At Last! An Actual Debate, Actually Worth Watching
I like that too, but I think there's a fair chance it does neither. As mentioned above, expectations for Cain will be low and he should be able to exceed them. If he holds his own at all, he becomes more plausible to those who are currently on the fence about him. I'd say there's about a 70% chance this helps Cain, and almost a 100% chance it helps Gingrich. It's a very interesting development.