CNN Undercard Republican Debate: Live Coverage

For those who say this is an incredibly weak GOP field: It’s interesting that neither the guy who finished in third place in 2008, Mike Huckabee, nor the guy who finished in second place in 2012, Rick Santorum, is among the top nine candidates this time around.

Have you forgotten that Pataki is on stage? He and Huckabee have spoken only half as often as Santorum and Graham. Those two are eking out bonus time by calling each other out and getting extra replies.

Q: Having an “undercard debate” persists in highlighting the unfairness and idiocy of this year’s Republican political process. Each of these forums (they’re not really debates) should’ve been managed by random selection: a fairer process and one that would mix up who gets to challenge whom. — Commenter Matthew Bond A: It’s tricky: I’m not a huge fan of having so much of the debate lineups determined by polling, but I’m also not a huge fan of making America listen to Jim Gilmore for two hours at a time. In my perfect world, I suppose you’d have had more debates but also more liberal rules about what form they take. Some could mix and match the candidates, some could invite a smaller group, some could use a “Survivor” format, or what have you. Perhaps those extra debates would have helped to winnow down the field more by now.