On August 6 Fox News will host the first Republican debate.
The top ten in an aggregation of polls will make it on stage, with the seven who don’t make the cut relogated to a panel earlier in the evening.
The names who appear certain to make it on stage are Trump, Bush, Walker, Carson, Huckabee, Cruz, Rubio and Paul, with Kasich and Christie just above the cut, though that could change (via NY Times):
Just below the cut is Perry, with Jindal, Santorum, Fiorina, Pataki and Graham clearly not making it onto the stage. :
But let’s face it, it’s all about The Donald.
As I predicted when he first announced, Trump announcement like “throwing a hand grenade into the room”:
“Donald Trump entering the race is pretty much like somebody throwing a hand grenade into the room. He is going to get attention, he’s probably going to cause some casualties, and he is going to absorb a lot of the oxygen in the room.”
Granted, that was an easy call a prophetic and brilliant call, but I should have seen The Donald phenomenon coming long before his official announcement.
At CPAC in March, long before anyone seriously thought Trump would actually run, and ages before his popularity soared, two friends of mine said they were supporting Trump.
These are two Tea Party, grassroots conservative activists. Their reaction to the question of who they were supporting was instantaneous and certain. I don’t remember the precise wording they used, but it was something along the line of what we are hearing loudly now: Trump is the only one who tells it like it is.
I was somewhat stunned. Really?
I should have paid more attention.
So now it’s all about Trump. Do I care?
At one level, yes.
I’m particularly interested in how Walker reacts, since he likely will be standing next to Trump. Unlike Bush, Walker doesn’t want to be the designated non-Trump candidate.
I’m most disappointed that Carly Fiorina will not be on stage. Contrary to some punditry, I don’t think Trump has stolen her thunder, I think she failed to establish herself as a first choice Presidential candidate. I still think she is running for Vice President, even if that’s not her intention, so she polls unusually low in Presidential rankings.
The others will all be competing for attention. Should be a spectacle.
Oh, the horrors for the Republican Party.
I’m going to sit back and enjoy the show. Whatever will be will be.
[Featured Image via Fox News 8 Cleveland]
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