Ben Carson is really getting to show off his leadership skills this week. Carson's campaign had taken the lead in pushing for the Republican presidential campaigns to make joint demands of the networks hosting debates ... and it isn't going so well.
Donald Trump said he wasn't going along. So did
Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and John Kasich. They weren't the last:.
Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush are out, too. So who does that leave besides Carson?
Along with Carson, the campaigns for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will still likely sing the letter, according to The Hill. Campaign representatives for Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) told The Hill that they were still reviewing the letter.
Not a whole lot of leverage in that group. With the number of interested campaigns quickly dwindling, the Carson group has
scaled back its demands:
What had been a demand for "equal questions of equal quality" has become an "equal number of questions." There is no longer a hint of prohibition against a "lightning round" or buzzers. And a note about the preferred room temperature, which was mocked by campaigns not signing the letter, is gone.
Republican leadership and negotiating in action, y'all.