Fight Night II

Well, here they go again.
Ten GOP hopefuls will bare their knuckles with all the ferocity of a declawed kitten as they embark on another edition of "Who will escape without sticking their foot in their mouth?"
In other words, the Republican presidential candidates debate begins in about an hour and a half on Fox News Channel. Too bad the Democrats pussed out on their FNC debate. So much for getting their message out and reconciling the "two Americas."

Anyway, we'll see if our former Badgerland governor, my boy from Elroy, Tommy Thompson, can get through without advocating workplace discrimination, unlike the GOPs' first debate, on April 26 at the Ronald Reagan Library. (I'm coming prepared for this round. This time, I'm going to take a drink everytime someone invokes the Gipper's name. If they match the 19 times they mentioned Reagan in Round 1, I'll give new meaning to the Spin Room.)

We'll be fielding an impressive mixture of leadership (Rudy Giuliani), executive office-holders (Thompson, Jim Gilmore, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee), and lawmakers (John McCain, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter). But one name is most conspicuous by its absence; Fred Thompson.

Most analysts have conjectured that the Arthur Branch himself is waiting in the wings - all 6-foot-6 of him - for just the right time to enter the race. I heard on the radio today that he's likely looking at June. So this could be the last chance for the Big Ten to get their messages out and kickstart their White House bid.

They'd better hope they're not going up against "Law & Order."