Eugene Robinson: Politics as Reality TV

[babylonsister]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/12/09/politics_as_reality_tv_112331.html

Politics as Reality TV
By Eugene Robinson


WASHINGTON -- I guess I was wrong. I thought Republicans surely would have come to their senses by now. Instead, they seem to be rushing deeper into madness.

With less than a month to go before the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney, the candidate shown by polls to have the best chance of defeating President Obama, evidently remains unacceptable to most of his party. He has spent the summer and fall playing second fiddle to a series of unconvincing "front-runners" who fade into the shadows once their shortcomings become obvious.

The latest is Newt Gingrich, a man with more baggage than Louis Vuitton -- and the taste for fine jewelry of Louis XIV, judging by his Tiffany's bill. Be honest: Is there anybody out there who believes Gingrich would make it through a general election campaign against Obama without self-destructing? I didn't think so.

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Do you suppose Trump will ask Gingrich about the ethics violations he committed while he was speaker of the House, or the $300,000 penalty fine he had to pay? Do you think he'll press Gingrich on the lucrative lobbying-by-another-name he's been doing on behalf of clients such as the government-supported mortgage giant Freddie Mac? Do you imagine he'll read Gingrich his Dickensian quotes about child labor laws and ask him to explain which jobs are suitable for urchins and which are not?

No, no and no. This show can have only one star, and we already know who it is. No matter which candidates show up, Donald Trump's debate will be about Donald Trump. I'm betting that at some point during the event, Trump will actually utter the phrase "You're fired."

And from the direction of the White House, you'll hear the sound of high-fives.