Remember the
hilarity that was the 2012 GOP debates? I can't wait for the next round! Who do you think will implode first? My money's on Cruz.
Is there anyone in the 2016 casting buzz who can match the extraordinary, surrealist political entertainment talents of Herman Cain—let alone his tragicomic rise and fall? I doubt it. This is a man whose fame came from his previous life as a pizza magnate, who quoted the Pokémon Movie in his campaign, who became a frontrunner on the strength of a goofy tax plan with a goofier name, and then evaporated in a cloud of rumors of marital infidelity.
And what about Newt Gingrich? The political entertainment legend has signaled that his tenure on the show may finally be coming to an end. While self-absorption is something of a casting requirement in the series, Gingrich blended narcissism with a certain scorn for the process that is simply irreplaceable.
Sure, some of the old standbys will be there. Trump is reprising his flirty will-he-won't-he routine, and Giuliani is doing double duty by adding a whiff of John Sununu's culture war conspiracy theories to the mayor’s usual tough-guy shtick. But these guys are character actors, bit players who can't carry much more than a news cycle, let alone a whole season.
