We've come a long way from those heady times back in 2011 when Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and Herman Cain were potential GOP presidential candidates. Michele Bachmann has come and gone and Rick Perry finally headed back to Texas in defeat, unable to match the oratorical heights of former governor, George W. Bush. Oops.
It has been an amazing primary season for the Republican nomination. Just when you think it can't get any weirder, someone opens their mouth and says something so wacky you can practically hear the late night comedians cheer. Even with the exit of someone like Cain—whose bizarre commercials and questionable personal values made him a favorite of just about everyone who loves performance art—the GOP reality show has carried on without missing a beat.
Four candidates remain in the battle for the nomination and on Thursday night they squared off in South Carolina for the billionth time to debate the same things they debated last time. Legend has it that this was the final debate of the season before the GOP picks their candidate but that can't be true. There is still so much left to dissect.
Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are the remaining contestants on the island and one thing is clear: the frontrunner is not the frontrunner until the last frontrunner sings “God Bless America” with his hand over a flag pin. Who was the frontrunner going in? Romney was coming off a win in New Hampshire while Santorum was celebrating a win in Iowa that was originally thought to be Romney's, and Gingrich seemed to have South Carolina in the bag heading into Saturday's vote. So, no one.
The latest twist came in the form of a Gingrich ex-wife (no. 2) spilling the beans on Newt's desire for an open marriage back in the late 90's. For the record, Newt denied the story and made sure to zing the messenger, CNN's John King, for having the gall to ask him about the day's biggest story. The reprimand was a rare complaint by Gingrich toward the media elite—his geniality and likability are growing with each new day on the campaign trail—and King chose not to ask him whether his lofty condemnation of Bill Clinton during the impeachment trials could be considered hypocritical.
The rest of the debate crackled with similar intensity: Mitt Romney continued to wow the GOP establishment with his refusal to say anything of substance; Ron Paul floundered with occasional bouts of rational thought; and Rick Santorum was just happy to be there. The voters of South Carolina will have the final say Saturday but there was one dark horse candidate who seemed to come out of nowhere, possibly throwing a wrench into the already-muddled field: Stephen Colbert.
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