Does Iowa Still Matter in the Age of TV?

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Last night was episode thirteen for the Republican presidential candidates. Has it been serious politics or reality TV? The TV debates have been compared to sitcoms and reality TV, with different leaders week after week and big audiences, apparently due as much to personal attacks and embarrassing gaffes as pronouncements on policy. Newt Gingrich, this week's principal target, said he was "editing" his remarks to avoid Mitt Romney's charge that he can be "zany." Romney went back to his role of attacking Barack Obama without speaking ill of other Republicans. With time growing short, others showed no such restraint. Iowa voters will caucus in less than three weeks. Will they pick a winner or will their choices be soon forgotten as the candidates move on to New Hampshire?

Websites of Republican presidential candidates:

Michele Bachmann
Rick Perry
Ron Paul
Jon Huntsman, Jr
Rick Santorum

Credits

Guests:

Host:

Warren Olney