The Debating Epidemic
Jules Witcover

You may have noticed, or maybe not, that the Republican presidential candidates, in collaboration with the news and social media, held yet another lengthy debate the other night as part of the process of establishing a pecking order for eventual selection of a nominee.

The luminaries of Fox News were foxtrotted out to pose questions gathered from voters calling or writing in, via YouTube and other vehicles for public participation. Nine candidates sought to elbow each other for the spotlight that gives all of them free air time in this preliminary phase.

Former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, who missed the three previous debates, distinguished himself by drawing the biggest laugh in observing, concerning the nation's most vexing challenge of job creation, that "my next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than the president."

But the debate, televised by Fox as a veritable self-promotion, just as CNN had done several nights earlier, once again cast Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the prime players. The other candidates were reduced to nipping at their heels in hope of slowing them down and finding a little daylight for themselves.

Perry, still leading in the polls, was pressed again by runner-up Romney to defend his strong record of job creation in Texas. Romney had mocked the notion in an earlier debate, saying Perry was dealt four aces by the state's oil riches, a Republican legislature and other advantages. Perry responded this time by saying "I wasn't born with four aces in my hand," an unsubtle reminder of his humble origins in contrast to Romney's upscale upbringing.

Rather than focusing on jobs, President Obama's toughest challenge right now, Romney again sought to capitalize on Perry's earlier debate criticism that Social Security was unconstitutional and that the program was better handled by the states. Perry this time backtracked somewhat. He assured current retirement beneficiaries and seniors on the cusp that the program would be there for them, while vowing to reform it for younger Americans.

Romney also attacked Perry for supporting the eligibility of children of illegal immigrants in Texas for lower in-state college tuition, a distinctly nonconservative position. Two other candidates, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former Sen. Rick Santorum, joined Romney in the criticism, which kept the focus on Perry without likely doing anything for their own low places on the pecking order.

One contribution of all the debates has been to reinforce the development of both Romney and Perry as debaters. Both men demonstrated improved ability to engage extemporaneously and counterattack as the debate marathon has gone on.

Romney, previously criticized as a closet liberal, contested that impression with his attack on Perry's college help for children of illegal immigrants. Perry, while continuing to project the image of the Texas tough guy, showed a compassionate side in defending the vaccination of young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. Nevertheless, Bachmann blasted him for unwarranted use of executive power.

All this infighting is inevitable in the quest for the party nomination as the contenders seek to emphasize the differences among themselves to demonstrate which of them has the best chance defeat President Obama in the general election next year. With so much free airtime available to all of them, the longshots like Santorum, former pizza king Herman Cain, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich can afford to hang in at least through the rest of this year.

However, once the long string of state presidential primaries and caucuses begins in early 2012, the difficulty of generating the kind of campaign money required for paid television advertising and heavy candidate travel will inevitably start winnowing down the field.

In the past, some major surprises have come out of early party skirmishes, such as Democrats Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Gary Hart in 1984. In the Republican Party, the nominees have almost always been members of the establishment. The GOP establishment itself, however, is muddy these days by virtue of the tea party infusion. And so the debate epidemic will go on, with news and social media happily contributing.