In the past few weeks, the media has been tracking what appeared to be a looming problem for the Republican presidential primary: The number of people who are either participating in the nominating contest or are threatening to do so has reached double digits. Normally, having an abundance of choice is not a bad thing, and a GOP field that includes Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio would be the most diverse group the party has ever fielded.
What's the problem? Well, they only make debate stages so big, you guys, and it looks like there aren't any onto which the potentially huge Republican field might fit. (The Democrats have, perhaps, the opposite problem: too few candidates. So, if you're hanging around outside one of their debates, look sharp -- you might get collared by a producer and drafted into participating, who knows?)
On Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland, Fox News will host the first of what will be at least six GOP primary debates. By that time, there could be anywhere between 12 and 18 people running to be the Republican presidential standard-bearer. There's never been a primary debate with more than 10 participants, and even if it was possible to jam all the competitors on the stage, Hollywood Squares-style, there's still a finite amount of time to split among the people vying for attention.
In order to craft a solution, someone has to set a standard -- and this was something the RNC was loathe to do, lest the agreed-to metric forced their heavy hand to limit the aforementioned diversity of the field. So, they're leaving it up to the media organizations to play the role of executioner. This week Fox News established that it would only allow candidates who are in the top 10, after the five polls conducted closest to the debate are tallied and averaged, to debate. As we reported earlier this week, that standard currently eliminates Jindal, Fiorina and Lindsey Graham, should they all choose to run.
Fox has promised to find other ways to accommodate those who don't qualify for the debate. But the truth is, being left off the stage will be a serious, perhaps even fatal, detriment for candidates, many of whom might really need a debate appearance to introduce themselves to the electorate. And those left out will definitely raise a hue and cry over it. After all, anyone who polls in the low single digits the August before the Iowa caucus imagines themselves to merely be a temporarily embarrassed frontrunner.
Life isn't fair. And, as we already said, there has to be a standard. But can we do better? This week, we here at Trail To The Chief put our heads together and tried to come up with as many ways as we could to create a debate format that would accommodate this large group and give everyone an equitable shot. Some of our solutions are sublime. Many are ridiculous. You might have an idea that's even better. If so, do share!
Photos: Getty, Associated Press