The Republican Candidates' Seven-Car Pileup

On the menu today: Before we get into the winners and losers from last night's Republican presidential-primary debate on Fox News, we should observe that the structure of the debate was designed to keep things moving, which left certain candidates frustrated that they didn't get to weigh in on particular topics. That frustration — and stress from knowing that it's time for the field to narrow down — boiled over at various points, with way too many stretches of crosstalk and auditory chaos. Also, have all those voices calling for using the U.S. military to take direct action against drug cartels on foreign soil thought this through? Nobody's watched or read Clear and Present Danger lately, huh?

A Stage Full of Chaos

As I said to Jack Butler on the National Review live-blog, I don't think last night's Republican presidential-primary debate on Fox News was poorly run. But multi-candidate primary-debate organizers face a persistent structural problem. If you ask every ... READ MORE

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