Originally published on the CGS blog on May 15, 2007.
For the second time in less than two weeks, the 10 announced candidates vying for the Republican Party Presidential nomination will engage in a 90-minute debate tonight. For a debate refresher on what you might want to look for, please refer to some of my thoughts of a couple of weeks ago.
Many media reports seem to be playing up this second tussle as a debate about social issues. In today’s Washington Post , veteran political reporter Dan Balz, focuses in on “America’s Mayor.” The money quote in the story belongs to former campaign manager for Senator Robert Dole’s presidential bid in 1996, Scott Reed:
“I think the candidate that has the most to prove is Giuliani. “Since the first debate his standing with conservatives has spun out of control, and he has a real challenge ahead of him.”
What has ‘spun out of control’ — sadly — are not the most pressing global issues that affect all of us, but the socially fringe issues political operatives often use to divide us, rather than unite us.
Balz also noted that “America’s Mayor” is on the ropes given his performance in the debate May 3:
Giuliani’s two principal rivals, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, fared better in reviews of the first debate. McCain gave a solid, if overcaffeinated, performance in the eyes of some supporters, at a time when his campaign had been widely criticized for anemic fundraising and his poll numbers were sagging.
Rumor has it that McCain staffers are keeping him on decaf from 3 PM this afternoon until right before the bell rings at 9 PM.
Tonight’s debate will air on FOX News, and given the huge importance of these early debates, FOX is beginning its pre-debate build up six hours before the candidates take the stage in South Carolina.
