Many words, little difference, no Impact

The first Republican presidential debate began with an unexpected gift to our country: a new national anthem: the “Star Mangled Banner.” It opened the show. I’m tone deaf, but that wasn’t enough. I wished I was totally deaf, ears plugged, covered, if not removed.

The rendition set the tone for much of the next couple hours. Natalie Grant, identified as a Christian singer, opened the Gates of Hell to eight candidates for president. She should ask forgiveness for both.

Fortunately, the audience was small compared to one-on-one presidential and vice-presidential debates. It drew 12.8 million viewers. In 2020, for Biden-Trump, there were 80.6 million viewers and the Clinton -Trump debate was only slightly lower. This debate wouldn’t, of course, match that, but closer should be expected.

Nothing in the two hours made a difference in how Republicans are split on their choices. Trump’s absence cost him nothing, He remains the choice of 58 percent of Republican voters. That is a 44 percent lead over Ron DeSantis. DeSantis, despite what I saw as a feeble performance, gained a single point. Behind him, both Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy also gained a point, rising to barely double digits.

The debate was more than a political event. It was a prayer meeting. The Grand Old Deity, GOD for short, is apparently a member of the G.O.P. Mike Pence invoked God more often than he spoke of George Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Abe Lincoln combined. But, on my scale of “better than expected,” he ranked high. Others who hit that goal included Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson and maybe the guy from North Dakota who might have saved himself the trip for all the time he got.

Among the godforsaken were Gov. DeSantis and Ramaswamy, who proved he is not qualified to be president and left one wondering how he became a billionaire without holding up several banks a week since high school.

Topics ranged from the Biden economy, the Biden age, the S.O.B., or son of Biden. The serious issue of climate change was in the wilderness except for Nikki Haley. Abortion put them all in the same bed. It was déjà vu all over again.

Watching from the sidelines like us was Will Hurd, a former congressman from Texas who had also been a clandestine CIA agent for nine years, because he, alone, would not sign the pledge that he would support the Republican nominee no matter who it was. Banned, he watched as we did. His verdict, “Will Hurd was not Impressed by what he saw on the debate stage.”

He saw “a party avoiding hard questions about its malignant front-runner and standing up to Putin in favor of cheap shots at the administrative state.” He believes climate change is real and a threat. He did not invoke God even once.

I think Will Hurd speaks for a lot of us, including loyal Republicans like he is.

The debate made no difference in our judgment of who was up to the job of president and who wasn’t. We didn’t miss Donald Trump. And for those of us who listened, the old Star Spangled Banner was better.

Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary.