Thin Crust Politics

New Hampshire holds it’s Presidential Primary next December, and voters there got their first look at Republican hopefuls in a CNN debate held Monday night in Manchester.

The stage was set with seven candidates, ranging from the familiar faces of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Ron Paul to newcomers like Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Georgia businessman and radio personality Herman Cain.

No Sarah Palin and no Donald Trump; and, if only for the entertainment value, that was kind of disappointing.

CNN’s John King was the moderator, promising right at the start to do his due diligence in keeping answers brief, on topic and even threatening to interrupt if necessary.  No bells or buzzers here, just his persistent and irritating guttural sounds trying to keep the answers short, in this Twitter generation of 140 characters or less.

The topics were what you would expect: Jobs, health care, social security.  Voters raised questions about how candidates would balance their approach to governing, with pressure from the Tea Party and others.  There were questions about Libya, our overall national defense and when we will bring troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  And because this was a Republican debate, there was a brief pause from unemployment and the economic crisis to talk about religion, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Overall, I thought Romney looked the most presidential while Gingrich sounded most presidential.  Paul probably appealed most to fringe voters, with unconventional answers to the matters at hand. Always ironic when the oldest man on the stage presents some of the freshest ideas.  Based on reactions from Twitter, Paul catches the attention of independent voters and even Democrats.

For Bachman, Cain, Pawlenty and Santorum, it was mostly a chance to introduce themselves and become acclimated to the national stage.  Bachman tried her best to make news, using the debate to announce that she is officially a candidate --- beyond the exploratory phase --- with paperwork filed and a news conference set for later this week.  Cain, an African-American businessman and former CEO for Godfather’s Pizza, proudly introduced himself as “not a politician” but a businessman with 43-years experience.  Pawlenty and Santorum tried to get in as much of their resumes as possible, before King started hemming and hawing with those noises to stop them.  (Note to CNN: Next time, a bell or buzzer, please)

The introductions were intentionally brief in the form of a 30-second or less “elevator speech,” just giving the essence of who they were.  For a moment, it sounded like a contest in propagating the species.  Santorum weighed in with seven children; Bachman touted five natural born children, but 23 foster kids; Romney mentioned five sons and 16 grandchildren.  Reports say at that point, Jim Bob Duggar of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” contemplated throwing his hat in the ring.

As much as I hate to admit it, one of the debate’s most interesting facets came from a cheesy trick Moderator King used going in and out of commercial breaks.  He called it “This or That.”  Pop culture questions designed to give us a more personal glimpse at each candidate, beyond the talking points.

And what did we learn?  Plenty, if your idea of hard core journalism is People Magazine.  Senator Santorum doesn’t watch much late night TV.  Who could, with seven kids?  But when hard pressed, he prefers Leno over Conan.  Bachman got a music question: Johnny Cash or Elvis?  The presidential novice took the safe route: She loves them both, but did admit to having an Elvis Christmas album on her iPod. 

Later in the debate, the candidates became more decisive.  Dancing with the Stars or American Idol? “Idol,” Gingrich said bluntly.  BlackBerry or iPhone? “BlackBerry,” said Congressman Paul, who is probably more comfortable with a blackboard.  They threw the pizza question to the Godfather: Thin crust or Deep Dish? “Deep Dish,” bellowed Cain in his deep baritone.

Spicy or mild wings, was posed to Governor Romney.  “Spicy,” he said proudly.  Don’t want to appear weak on your wings.  And Coke or Pepsi?  “Coke,” said Governor Pawlenty.  There must not be a big Pepsi presence in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.

There were no major gaffes or punches thrown among the seven candidates.  Barack Obama was clearly the target here, with Congresswoman Bachman proclaiming him a “one term president.”  Romney said the president has ignored the main issues of the economy, restraining government and establishing a strong foreign policy.

But when the biggest cheers come from the pop culture questions, it reminds you that as Americans we often prefer our politics served on thin crust.