The GOP Formiddable

In 1968, two prominent Minnesota politicians sought the presidency. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, a champion of civil rights and Medicare, and Senator Eugene McCarthy, the ultimate antiwar candidate, were by no means small potatoes. They were statesmen. Forty-some years later, Minnesota once again has the distinction of seeing two of its own vie for that high office.

But statesmen, this time, we ain't got.

Anyone who caught CNN's debate Monday night knows that. Bachmann exceeded expectations, which is a frustrating phrase to type. Why do we always, always play this silly expectations game? Back in school, let's say math class, when I was clearly struggling, the teachers helping me had to think, "Well, he's going to fail the quiz." When I then achieved C- mathematical wizardry, they didn't give me an A. They gave me a C-.

But somehow, every election, we create separate barometers by which we judge the candidates for president. This time, coming out unscathed was all Romney needed in order for a "win." He didn't need to provide the best ideas, or inspire the most confidence. Just sit there, not get hit too hard.

Bachmann apparently needed to do little more than show up. She sounded like her typical, stilted, simpleton self, and according to so-called experts came in second for basically no reason at all. Pawlenty, on the other hand, barely registered. Given the chance to land a few punches on frontrunner Mitt Romney and the former Massachusetts governor's pre-Obamacare health plan, Pawlenty retreated. Perhaps it was because he knew what Mr. Romney's retort may have been.

Where Pawlenty left the governor's office with a $6 billion deficit, Romney ended his term with a $2 billion surplus. Pawlenty's surplus in 2009 was a combination of smoke, mirrors, and one-time federal stimulus dollars courtesy of--you guessed it--Barack Obama. In a GOP primary, this record can be just as damning as having inspired Obamacare.

We here in Minnesota know Bachmann to be a crackpot (really, just a total nutbag), and Pawlenty to be a gutless, cutesy failure. Give it time and the rest of the country will reach the same conclusions. We don't have candidates with the heft of Humphrey or McCarthy, but Minnesota, we've got an entertaining spectacle.

Stay tuned for more thoughts on the GOP field, like why I think Republicans and Democrats ought to be rooting for Jon Huntsman.