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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Camp and fish for free at Oregon state parks next weekend 10 things to know for Friday SOU launches arts institute for high school students It's a family affair for these trick riders at the Expo 10 things to know for Thursday Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Metal thieves ordered to pay $206,394 Police arrest repeat offender after 90-minute chase Report of shooting in Jacksonville was a hoax, police say Missing Ashland woman found dead Politics and Elections Case, Salmon leading in Central Point School Board race Lundberg, Mannenbach leading Eagle Point races Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Arthur I. 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Mangino: The promise of legal representation often not fulfilled Letters to the Editor, May 29 Michael Gerson: Religious conservatives' shifting role Granlund cartoon: FIFA corruption charges Editorials Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline Our View: A fitting legacy for a wildlife champion Our View: Wine growers take note of climate change Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet Other Views: PERS ruling leaves little room to maneuver Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 29 Letters to the Editor, May 28 Letters to the Editor, May 27 Letters to the Editor, May 26 Letters to the Editor, May 25 Columns Michael Gerson: Religious conservatives' shifting role George Will: The separation of campaign and state Dana Milbank: The decline of Rand Paul Kathleen Parker: It must not be easy being Bill Kristol We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions Guest Opinions We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests Guest Opinion: Medford needs SkyPark more than it needs parking Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinion: Oregon mothers need much more than flowers Lifestyle Latest stories Cocktail Hour Community blog: Raise your glass to rhubarb before it's toast Atkinson film on Klamath Basin water wars to play at Varsity Get Out: Friday, May 29 Health Watch: Taking action, with skin cancer on the rise Food Community blog: Raise your glass to rhubarb before it's toast Community blog: Scallions, scapes bring more savor to rhubarb Lavender in your larder Traveling in time with Grandma Skinner's Scottish Shortbread Andrea Honaker: Getting to know rhubarb Home and Garden Betty Montgomery: Clematis is a lovely, versatile flowering vine Make herbs part of your plant world Homeowner’s insurance: What it covers, what it excludes Monarchs are disappearing, but you can help with a wildflower garden Linda Cobb: Time to make a list of spring garden chores Health Health Watch: Taking action, with skin cancer on the rise It Is What It Is: Come on body, stay with me! Community blog: It�s a Shame: How to Understand and Manage It Health Watch: How to avoid the diet rut Donna Knight: How to lessen your risk Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 22 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 15 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 8 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Milestones and Achievements New rec program targets park events Prefontaine-style running trail proposed in south Medford Bukair-Hinkle Wedding: Stephanie Anne Obad and Mark Douglass Schmor Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 picks for live entertainment Live Music in Local Clubs Cast of Clowns pays tribute to Grateful Dead at Brickroom in Ashland YSSO showcases Mozart, Jerry Su and Mark Jacobs 'Night Train to Memphis' Theater Oregon Cabaret Theatre stages gritty 'Cabaret' SOU presents Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' OSF commissioned plays tour throughout country 'Cuckoo's Nest' is a big play, well presented 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Music Live Music in Local Clubs Cast of Clowns pays tribute to Grateful Dead at Brickroom in Ashland YSSO showcases Mozart, Jerry Su and Mark Jacobs The Farr Side: ‘American Idol’ could have continued much longer 'Night Train to Memphis' Community Events Camp and fish for free at Oregon state parks next weekend Backstage tours give insider's look at Oregon Shakespeare Festival It's a family affair for these trick riders at the Expo Unleash your inner cowboy at the Wild Rogue Pro Rodeo May 28-30 in Central Point Memorial Day celebrates veterans Movies Movie review: ‘San Andreas’ has its faults, but it’s a fantastic-looking disaster film What the ‘Entourage’ gang has to say about the film The ‘Entourage’ movie: Catching up with Vince, E, Drama, Turtle and Ari Interview: ‘Good Kill’ offers blistering look at ‘battlefields and blackjack’ of drone warfare Review: ‘Tomorrowland’ feels like another Disneyland staple — Dopey Dining Teapot on Wheels an outpost for Anglophiles Lavender in your larder Upscale pub fare at The Point Wine by the keg, growler, box and ammo can 6 stars of the Rogue Valley food universe Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline ... SOU launches arts institute for high school students ... Get Out: Friday, May 29 ... Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline ... SOU launches arts institute for high school students ... Get Out: Friday, May 29 ... ANOTHER VIEW Kathleen Parker: Who's the studliest of them all? MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted May. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Because so many Republicans want to be president — or at least pretend they do — debate organizers have decided to eliminate the least popular from the stage based on how they rank in the latest national polls. Fox News, which is hosting the first televised debate Aug. 6, and CNN, host of the second on Sept. 16, have come up with a way to limit the field. Basically, it's the popularity contest presidential elections have always been, only this time there's no attempt to masquerade it as something loftier. Fox will limit the number of contestants to the top 10. Everybody else may as well head to their favorite resort, work on their backstroke, and embrace the not-unpleasant reality that someone else is going to look 20 years older in four more years. At least CNN will allow the "losers" — those polling outside the top 10 — to debate separately in a second part. The benchwarmers get to play each other, in other words. This may sound dull, but when you're not winning, you may as well be honest. Who knows what nuggets might tumble from the tongues of the rejected and the desperate? But seriously. Imagine running for president of the United States, which requires a full tank of narcissistic propulsion and near-pathological ambition — and knowing at the starting gate that not only are you not  going to be president but you're not even going to be allowed to play with the big dogs. What becomes of the indignant rage born of such insult? How does one channel such humiliation and injury? Good morning. Is Roger Ailes in, please? Understandably, the field has to be winnowed somehow. It would be challenging to fit 18 people on a stage, the effect of which would be to make everyone look ridiculous. Not all candidates are equal, we needn't be reminded, and giving them equal space to insult and denigrate the likely nominee is so much blood for a mere moment of glory. Leaving the party's candidate wounded and financially bruised, as Republican also-rans did to Mitt Romney in 2012, helped no one so much as Barack Obama by providing him all the opposition research he needed. Still, the approach to eliminating weaker candidates feels a bit un-American, doesn't it? Anyone can grow up to become president, we say; P.S. You just can't debate your opponents. Everyone has a voice in the public debate we call politics, we aver. That is, except for a few of you who aren't yet on people's radar. But you can talk to each other! This sidelining of certain candidates, even if practical, seems bad for business and especially for leadership, which sometimes reveals itself during debates. Many candidates soar or perish under the hot lights — "Oops!" And the stigma of being designated an "also-ran" before the race even begins likely would crush anyone's chances of being recognized later as a hidden jewel. Relegating the unpopular to the margins is also tricky for Republicans when one of them is likely to be the only Republican woman running — Carly Fiorina. But based on the average of polls found today on RealClearPolitics — the Bible Belt for the religiously political — you also wouldn't hear from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Ohio Gov. John Kasich or former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum during the first debate. But be brave: Donald Trump is in. Which is to say, we may as well call it a day. Rather than waste time and money polling Iowans and talking grits 'n' gravy with South Carolinians, why not just select our senior superlatives the way we did in high school? Who is something-est — the tallest, handsomest, smartest, wittiest, friendliest, cutest, nicest, toughest, most likely to succeed and, not least, most likely to attract about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote? Oh, and who can beat Hillary Clinton? Lest I be a spoiler, I'll let you fill in the blanks. I'd be willing to bet that the superlatives selected will be the 10 contestants — I mean, candidates — appearing on the big stage come August. Hints: Jeb Bush is 6-feet-3; Marco Rubio and Bush speak Spanish fluently; Ted Cruz speaks Spanglish; and Mike Huckabee is pretty funny. Politics isn't really science after all, but is a schoolyard brawl — or a survivor reality game, depending on one's preference — where human nature calls the shots. Kathleen Parker's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 25, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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