In The Tank

I have not said anything about the never-ending debates, in large part because there are much better political minds saying it all.  However, I could not help but chuckle at the incoherent questioning that came out of George Stephanopolous and Diane Sawyer in last Saturday's debate.  Sawyer, who giggled at inappropriate times and asked rambling incoherent questions, appeared to either be high or drunk during the debate.  When she turned to ask Governor Romeny a question and stopped with "Governor Romney....." (leading Romney to chuckle "is there a question or do you want me to follow up on what he said?") you knew she had no clue where she was or what she was doing.  Then there was the ludicrous question of states banning contraception...

All in all 73 minutes of the debate was spent talking about issues that no one (except Democrats apparently) seem to care about.   The Wall Street Journal thinks that there is a lesson to be learned in Saturday's debacle.

A funny thing happened on the way to the New Hampshire primary: ABC moderator George Stephanopoulos embarrassed himself on national television with questions plainly intended to embarrass the Republican candidates. Therein lies a lesson.

On Saturday night, Mr. Stephanopoulos stepped outside the role of honest interlocutor when he pursued Mitt Romney with the issue on nobody's lips or legislative agenda: whether states have the right to ban contraception. Likewise, fellow moderator Diane Sawyer, who asked Republicans what they would say, "sitting in their living rooms," to a gay couple.

As the audience appreciated—they booed after Mr. Stephanopolous's sixth follow-up—these questions were designed less to illuminate than to paint Republicans as people who hate gays and are so crazy they might just ban contraception if elected.

But the lesson to be learned - a little humor and a little honesty....

Rick Santorum essentially answered directly, opposing the Supreme Court's definition of privacy and defending traditional marriage.... Mr. Gingrich's answer showed why he remains popular among many Republican quarters despite his considerable baggage. Unlike those who strike conservative voters as too polite or deferential to lordly media figures, Mr. Gingrich calls bias by its name. ... Nevertheless, Mr. Romney trumped. He didn't shy away from the substance, confirming that he favors repeal of Roe v. Wade and explaining the constitutional way to oppose court decisions when you believe one has been wrongly decided. But when he dismissed the whole line of questioning as "silly," he made Mr. Stephanopoulos look ridiculous.

...and they remembered the master of the good humored, honest response to silly little comments like that...

No one appreciated this more than Ronald Reagan. ... When Mr. Carter implied Mr. Reagan was against Medicare because he opposed all efforts to help provide decent health care for American citizens, Mr. Reagan smiled and shook his head. Then he issued four devastating words that have now entered the political lexicon: "There you go again."

There you go again - 4 little words that packed a punch.  Four little words that WHOEVER the GOP nominee is needs to add to his vocabulary - because the Democrats and the media (pardon the redundancy) are going to everything that they can to distract from Obama's dismal economic record.  So they will ignore the economy, they are going to ignore the inflation and unemployment and they are going to focus in the inconsequential.....social issues.

Social issues are great to discuss - when times are flush...when we don't have more pressing issues to deal with.  However today there is only one issue - to quote James Carvell "It's the economy stupid!"  I think the next time he is on ABC News he may want to remind George and Diane of that little bit of wisdom.