The latest Republican debate

I haven’t really been watching the debates much.  
It’s sort of like a football game in which you want to know which team wins and you want to see the high lights, but you aren’t interested enough to spend all that time watching.

Everyone will talk about Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate for three reasons: Herman Cain’s dignity under fire, Rick Perry’s  goof up and Newt Gingrich’s usual excellent performance.  

Herman Cain was expected to be the main attraction of the debate because of the recent allegations of sexual harassment made against him.  But, when the question came, the audience booed it.  Then, Cain gave an impassioned and credible account of himself. “I value my character and my integrity more than anything else,” he said, “and for every person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are thousands, who would say none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.”   The moderators then asked Romney if he thought Cain would be a suitable presidential candidate under the present circumstances. The audience booed again and Mitt refused to dignify the question with a response.  

Rick Perry’s career killing snafu was when he started listing the ways that he would reduce spending.  He announced that he would abolish three government departments: “Commerce, education and …” And … he forgot the third one.  Poor Perry scratched his head and asked the debate moderators for help: “What’s the third one there?” Someone suggested the Environmental Protection Agency but, no, that wasn’t it.  The moderators gave him a little extra time and he looked through his notes.  “I can’t find the third,” he said with the sheepish grin.

Perry’s big goof up and Cain’s problems have opened up an opportunity for another candidate to run even with Romney.   I’m thinking it might be Newt Gingrich.

That’s about all this Monday morning quarterback learned from the media coverage, but that’s probably as much as I would have learned if I had wasted all that time watching.