It's time to change tone of debates

Column

Next up: us.

The Republicans will be finished with South Carolina after today, which means their GPS tracking units have been set on Tampa and Monday's scheduled debate at the University of South Florida.

We say "scheduled" because uncertainty remains exactly how that's all going to play out, since no one knows for sure if Mitt Romney will even participate. But somehow, some way, the show will go on, and we have a few points to make for our Republican visitors.

While there are many legitimate reasons to argue that President Barack Obama does not deserve a second term in office, it's fair to say the current field of challengers has yet to distinguish itself.

Newt Gingrich may be toting more baggage than your average bellhop, but it's interesting that deeply conservative voters in South Carolina seem inclined to overlook that. And that runs against conventional theory. But what doesn't in this whacky race?

It doesn't hurt Gingrich that Romney is doing a pretty good number on himself, what with his gaffe the other day that $350,000 he made for giving speeches is "not very much" and fumbling over releasing his income tax records.

Statements like that only make Romney look out of touch with Americans struggling to keep mortgages afloat, with kids in school, while paying their share of the ever-expanding national debt.

Gingrich has his issues, too. More than a few people don't believe he can win a general election against Obama. His personal behavior will be ripe fodder for attack ads in the fall.

I have never been comfortable putting too high a premium on all that because we're voting for president, not Sunday School Teacher in Chief. The nation did that with Jimmy Carter. It did not end well.

So this is what we get. Asked by moderator John King of CNN during Thursday's debate about charges from his second ex-wife, Marianne, that he wanted an "open marriage" so he could carry on an affair with his now-current wife, Callista, Gingrich pounced.

"To take an ex-wife and make it, two days before the (South Carolina) primary, a significant question in a presidential campaign, is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine," he said.

The best defense can be a good offense. Still, Gingrich was carrying on an affair while speaker of the House, leading an impeachment charge against Clinton for allegedly lying about his disgusting behavior. It's a stretch to believe that it will go away just because he wants it to.

What we've had too often is enough charge and counter-charge that paints every potential challenger as a loser.

Just a suggestion: That may not be the best strategy going forward. Feel free to change the tone any time now, please.