First GOP debate tonight

The first debate is tonight, if we'll be able to call it that. Looks to me like the stage is going to be a little to crowded to offer anything more than a question/answer session with about 5 or 6 minutes or so of facetime for each candidate, (by the time you add in applause and moderator questions, etc.).

SIMI VALLEY, California (Reuters) - Ten Republican White House contenders, led by early favorites Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain, will crowd the stage on Thursday for their first debate in an already heated 2008 presidential campaign.

A week after the Democratic candidates held their opening debate but more than 18 months before the November 2008 election, the Republicans take their turn in the political spotlight at the presidential library of conservative hero Ronald Reagan outside Los Angeles.

And now the latest word from the SCGOP re: the next debate (on May 15th in Columbia, SC) is that it too will feature 10 candidates. This despite the fact that we were supposed to have a little stricter qualifications, such as at least one percent in the polls. Maybe it was the plus/minus five percent margin of error that allowed everyone in...or maybe it was that $25,000 entry fee that they were all willing to pony up. Hmmm.

On the plus side, maybe after hearing from these guys we can get over the meme that Republicans aren't happy with their choices and are longing for someone else to get in the race. Personally, I don't really think that's the case, but rather that the realities of a 24 hour multi-cable news channel universe, coupled with the meteoric rise of Internet politics, has shortened the cycle that it takes people to get tired of someone and look for the next thing. But I don't think people that are that fickle represent the base of the party anyway. We'll see.