To the Point
Reality TV Show Comes to an End: Will Voters Get Serious?
GOP presidential candidates have debated 13 times on national TV, leaving less than three weeks for the grassroots campaigning that’s traditional before the Iowa caucuses.
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenRepublican presidential candidates have debated thirteen times on national TV, leaving less than three weeks for the grassroots campaigning that’s traditional before the Iowa caucuses. We hear about last night's final goldfish-bowl confrontation and what's coming next. Also, Congress averts a government shutdown, but the payroll tax is still uncertain. On Reporter's Notebook, Christopher Hitchens, the radical leftist who shocked friends and readers by supporting the War in Iraq, has died at the age of 62. We hear from an old friend about his work and his personality.
Banner image: Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney chat after finishing the Fox News Channel debate at the Sioux City Convention Center on December 15, 2011. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesCongress Averts Government Shutdown, Payroll Tax Still Uncertain
The House and the Senate have reached a deal on government spending that will keep the Pentagon, the EPA and the Education Department open until the end of this fiscal year. Other agencies were taken care of in November. But the extensions of tax withholding cuts and unemployment benefits are still unresolved.
Read the story8 minDoes Iowa Still Matter in the Age of TV?
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.
Read the story35 minChristopher Hitchens Dead at the Age of 62
One of America's most controversial public intellectuals died last night in a Houston hospital of pneumonia brought on by esophageal cancer. He was 62 years old. Christopher Hitchens was a British-born, naturalized American and public intellectual. Targets of his slashing attacks included Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Theresa.
Read the story8 min