“Framing the debate,” of course, is an expression commonly used to mean defining the narrative — but in this case, I mean it literally: Why do Republicans continually subject themselves to primary debates where the rules and the agenda are solely set by the MSM?
This is a serious problem. In politics, the question matters more than the answer. Certain topics have built-in skews. For example, a really good answer from Rick Santorum on, say, contraception is still not as helpful as a mediocre answer on, say, “Operation Fast and Furious”
This is not to say that Republicans should avoid tough questions, but it is to say that 20+ debates filled with divisive “wedge issue” questions will obviously have a negative cumulative impact (in terms of the public perception of Republicans). Meanwhile 20+ televised debates focusing on why Barack Obama is a bad president would likely have a very different impact.
Of course, I am reluctant to trust the Republican Party to interfere with anything, much less the debates. But it has become painfully clear something must be done. And it seems reasonable to conclude the RNC ought to be more involved in the terms of debates.
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