I appreciate Joe Lawler for his observations of the GOP debate throughout the night.

I must confess that I only skimmed the debate in between innings of the Brewers-Cardinals game. While I did see Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty go at it almost every time I flipped the channel I saw Ron Paul ranting about one thing or another. I hope that it is not a sign of things to come.

So why didn’t I give the debate my undivided attention? Well, the debate was as much about who wasn’t there than who was there. This was the case when Brett Baier asked about Rick Perry’s impending entry into the race on Saturday. And what about the likes of Sarah Palin, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan?

The next GOP debate is scheduled for September 22nd in Orlando. Six weeks from now, the complexion of the race could be completely changed. Republicans are going to need a bigger stage.