COMMENTARY: There were no winners in most recent GOP debate

By Berl Falbaum

As soon as the second Republican presidential debate ended, as any enterprising political columnist would do, I pondered the question: Who won?

I had listened intently and took notes because I knew that for several days, the “expert analysts” would debate the question and I did not want to be left out in the cold.

Thus, I am sharing some of my findings exclusively here with readers.

—I was impressed by North Dakota Governor Douglas Burgum, specifically for how silently and patiently he stood before getting a question from the three moderators who finally realized that North Dakota was part of the U.S. In the debate’s two hours, Burgum spoke for all of 7 minutes and 35 seconds (according to official timekeepers) but Burgum suppressed the instinct to complain on the air how costly it was for him to participate.

—I am not sure I liked former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s attempt at humor. Criticizing Donald Trump for not participating in the debate, Christie said the former president soon would be known as Donald “Duck.” Christie appeared very pleased with himself, chuckling confidently when he finished.

Now, I happen to believe we need some humor in our humorless politics but that line just didn’t do it for me. Maybe Christie should hire a writer from SNL.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also criticized Trump for skipping the debate but he did not mention Donald Duck, probably because of his feud with the Disney empire.

—I did like the spunk of former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. When South Carolina Senator Tim Scott attacked her for outrageous spending, she urged him, to “Bring it, Tim.”

I had this vision of her facing Russian President Vladimir Putin, looking him straight in the eye and challenging him with, “Vlady, bring it on. And remember, I am not Donald Trump.”

—Scott also accused her of spending more than $50,000 on curtains for her office when she was ambassador to the U.N. She informed Scott that the curtains were bought by the Democratic Obama administration, to which Scott asked, “Did you send them back?”

Sadly, to my dismay, the debate moderators did not pursue the issue by asking about the return policy for the curtains.

(Worth noting:  When she was governor, Haley appointed Scott to a vacant Senate seat. Obviously, she was unaware that he considered her curtains too expensive.)

I think by this point readers will conclude that I did not think much of the debate.  Indeed, when you have seven candidates participating (10 in 2016), such debates are a total waste of time.

One-on-one debates are an entirely different matter. Properly handled by moderators, they can provide insights into the respective candidates and their policies.

There was not a word on Ukraine — yes, that Ukraine — the climate crisis, the deficit, the auto strike, COVID, and so many other issues which were not considered as serious as the curtains.

In such a debate setting, issues can’t be developed; candidates shout at and over each other trying to get air time; moderators generally lose control; and we are left with what can only be described as meaningless “noise, babble.” Lack of control, let to an uncontrolled time allocation:

DeSantis spoke almost 5 minutes more than Burgum at 12 minutes and 27 seconds; Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy was next at 11 minutes and 53 seconds; then came Scott at 10 minutes and 42 seconds; Christie at 10 minutes and 32 seconds; former vice president, Mike Pence, at 9 minutes and 35 seconds and Haley, at 9 minutes and 5 seconds.

We should also note that some moderators seem more interested in their questions, hoping to impress the audience, than in pursuing vital domestic and foreign policy issues.

Given the format, it is impossible to make a major difference, particularly when Trump is leading the seven candidates by an average of roughly 40 percentage points.

The candidates realize the futility of trying to have a serious discussion and work principally to levy a one-liner that will get them the headlines the next day.

The ultimate goal: Control the media coverage for a couple of days and perhaps gain a point or two in the polls.

Christie tried it with Donald Duck. Pence took his shot by saying that Joe Biden should not be on the UAW picket line but in the unemployment line.

Some of the others made attempts at a headline-grabbing statement but were so ineffective, I did not bother to write them down.

So, as a public service, the GOP might cancel all upcoming debates during the primary season. (Another debate is scheduled for November.)

I know that Burgum would welcome such a cancellation. The next one is scheduled to take place in Miami and it will cost him a lot more traveling from North Dakota than it did for the last one which was on the West Coast in the Reagan Library in California.
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Berl Falbaum is a veteran journalist and author of 12 books.