Let the presidential debates begin!
They鈥檙e lining up to take on the current president of these United States 鈥� 鈥淪mokin'鈥� Joe Biden.
There are two Democrats 鈥� anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and self-help author Marianne Williamson. There鈥檚 a third-party candidate 鈥� Professor Cornel West.
Republicans, though, are falling all over themselves, getting in line, hoping to become the nominee who鈥檒l face Biden in November of 2024.
According to the Federal Election Commission, as of the start of August, there have been 286 (potential) candidates who鈥檝e filed paperwork to run.
So far, only a small number of them have gained any kind of serious public attention (14 of them to be exact): Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Larry Elder, Will Hurd, Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Perry Johnson, Francis Suarez, and Corey Stapleton.
In that crowd, there are six current or former state governors 鈥� Haley, Pence, Hutchinson, DeSantis, Christie, and Burgum.
Three Republican candidates have never held any kind of public office: Ramaswamy, Elder, and Johnson.
And, of course, there鈥檚 one ex-president, Trump, who is hoping to become the first president to serve non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland served his second term in 1892.
As of the end of July, Trump has taken in more than $32 million. That鈥檚 the most among Republican candidates. The least has been the $8,253 raised by Stapleton.
That鈥檚 probably why you may not have heard of Stapleton until you read this column. He鈥檚 short on cash, and therefore, short on attention.
There won鈥檛 be 14 candidates on stage for next week鈥檚 first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee. Only eight 鈥� Ramaswamy, Scott, DeSantis, Pence, Christie, Burgum, Haley, and Trump 鈥� have qualified to take part. So far, Trump hasn鈥檛 indicated he鈥檒l join them.
He鈥檚 polling so well that he doesn鈥檛 seem eager to risk his high poll numbers by having to answer questions in front of a national audience 鈥� while standing beside his fellow presidential aspirants who鈥檇 fact-check him on the spot.
He seems to be more comfortable flailing away at prosecutors and judges who are holding him to account for his alleged legal indiscretions.
In speech after speech, he hurls insults. He calls special prosecutor Jack Smith a 鈥渢hug prosecutor.鈥�
He attacks the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney, Fani Willis (who happens to be Black, and who happens to be investigating him for post-presidential election shenanigans), 鈥渁 young woman, a young racist in Atlanta,鈥� but for no apparent reason.
There鈥檚 no need to take the debate stage if you can fire off cheap shots around the country that won鈥檛 get challenged.
Of course, between the time I write this and the time of the debate, Trump may have a change of heart and decide to take part in the debate.
In the meantime, other candidates are trying desperately to out-trump Trump.
DeSantis, whose campaign continues to fizzle, has said he鈥檇 鈥渟tart slitting throats鈥� in the federal bureaucracy on his first day in office.
The loud jaw-drop after that particular promise could be heard nationwide.
Bill Kristol, a staunch conservative, said DeSantis was, 鈥淢aking a bold play to dominate the maniacal psychopath lane of the Republican primary.鈥�
Ramaswamy avoids common sense when he campaigns.
He claims he wants to raise the automatic voting age to 25. If you want to vote before that, according to Ramaswamy, then join the military.
He also says, without hesitation, that if he鈥檚 elected, he鈥檇 pardon Trump.
So would Haley. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 keep dealing with this drama,鈥� she says. It all sounds as if she鈥檚 auditioning for vice president.
Most of the Republicans seeking the nomination for president are steering clear of attacking Trump.
Some aren鈥檛, though.
Former Congressman Will Hurd spoke at an event where he flatly said, 鈥淭rump鈥檚 presidential bid is driven by an attempt to stay out of prison and scam his supporters into footing his legal bills.鈥�
Hurd may have been right. But he got roundly booed for his honesty.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.