[Graybeard58]

Republicans are paying a high price for allowing their presidential race to be dominated by nationally televised debates.

It's no different than when any other sitting president is running unopposed for his party's nomination. After the R. nominee has been chosen, all these negatives brought up in the primary campaign will be old news.

[The Pack Knight]

It's no different than when any other sitting president is running unopposed for his party's nomination. After the R. nominee has been chosen, all these negatives brought up in the primary campaign will be old news.

I sure hope it's different, because history is not on our side in this regard. Since World War II (and in fact going back earlier), no sitting President who ran unopposed for his party's nomination has ever lost the general election.

The only three incumbent Presidents since World War II to lose in the general election all faced significant nomination challengers - Ford had Reagan, Carter had Ted Kennedy, and Bush had Buchanan.

Truman in '52 and Johnson in '68 likely would have joined them had they not seen the writing on the wall and decided in the face of serious opposition within their own party that discretion was the better part of valor.