When it was first announced that NBC News would team with Politico to host the first GOP presidential debate this year in May, some conservative bloggers reacted with fury, claiming that because of the network's connection with its corporate partner — the left-of-center MSNBC brand — that they should boycott the event. Some even questioned Politico's centrist standing (Hugh Hew
">itt, for one, still is unhappy about NBC's participation in the event).
Well, those critics can continue to complain about the event if they like, since it won't happen now until September. This morning officials with the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, the site of the event, said that with so few candidates officially entered into the GOP contest, there were simply not enough announced human beings present to host the affair.
“The Reagan Foundation prides itself on sponsoring world-class debates in which all of the major candidates in contention can make their point of view known to the widest possible audience,” said John Heubusch, executive director for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. “Although there will be a long and impressive list of Republican candidates who eventually take the field, too few have made the commitment thus far for a debate to be worthwhile in early May. The Reagan Foundation’s first Republican presidential primary debate will move to the fall, allowing enough time for the full slate of candidates to participate.”
So far, the only official candidate in the race is Godfather's pizza chain owner Herman Cain. Last week former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced the formation of an exploratory committee, which is generally a precursor to the candidate's official announcement, and Pawlenty is considered a sure candidate to run — as is Mitt Romney, who is actually out fundraising in California today.
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2011.