• Oh, yes, there was one other event. Rick Santorum, a long shot for the nomination, formally opened his campaign Monday, only to see his announcement buried beneath the rubble left by the political collapse of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) after he confessed to sending sexually charged tweets.
Now, onto New Hampshire. Monday’s debate in Manchester, which will be hosted by CNN, WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader, will air nationally on CNN beginning at 8 p.m. Seven candidates will be onstage: Romney, Pawlenty, Gingrich, Santorum, businessman Herman Cain, and Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Tex.).
This will be Romney’s first debate. It will also be Gingrich’s, whose candidacy now depends heavily on his shining in candidate forums, and Bachmann’s, whose prospective candidacy could be a force in Iowa.
Absent will be Jon Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor and Obama’s ambassador in Beijing. He is in New Hampshire, his new second home, this weekend and is on the cusp of announcing his intention to run.
Early debates are like early-season sports contests, run at not-quite-full speed with competitors at not-quite-peak performance levels. The biggest target of criticism is likely to be Obama, rather than Romney. The former Massachusetts governor may begin to feel some heat from rivals over health care, but look for him to keep his focus on the president, the economy and foreign policy.
The first debates are often more polite than confrontational. Candidates usually wait until after Labor Day for serious engagement, preferring to use these initial encounters to introduce themselves to voters and viewers who know little about them. But sometimes sparks can fly. Obama stumbled a bit in the first Democratic debate in 2007 and later caught a blast from Hillary Rodham Clinton in a midsummer forum over his willingness to talk to the leaders of hostile nations (like Iran) with no preconditions.
Romney will be the most closely watched, as Republicans — and Obama’s team — take his measure as a possible challenger to the president and activists look for the sparks of passion that could excite his party’s base. Pawlenty has as much at stake as he tries to convince primary and caucus voters that he has the best chance to defeat Obama and therefore is the most credible alternative to Romney.
Bachmann hopes to make a splash, show her tea party appeal and diminish interest in Palin. Cain, who did well in the South Carolina debate in May, hopes to keep the good reviews coming for his long-shot bid. Santorum will help lead the attack on Obama. Paul will lead the attack on some elements of GOP orthodoxy.
Republicans won the 2010 elections, but they are looking for a leader. Monday’s debate will mark the next step in the process of finding one.
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