Christensen: GOP is doing politics right

The Republican presidential primary has been both entertaining and easy to lampoon: with the Herman Cain sex scandal; The Donald, the Sarah Palin tease, and the Rick Perry brain lock just for starters.

But with little more than three weeks to go before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, there is another argument to be made - that the GOP presidential primary represents democracy at its best.

Here's why.

For those worried about the influence of big money in politics, the GOP presidential primary has been a breath of fresh air. This primary has not been for sale - not to Wall Street, not to Big Oil, not to anybody. There has been less money spent in this cycle than in previous cycles. According to an analysis by Bloomberg News, the top nine Republicans have spent $53 million through September. That compares to the $132 million spent during the same period by both parties in 2004, $58 million spent by the Democrats in 2004 during the same period, and the $68 million spent by the Republicans in 2000 during the same time frame.

The reason the GOP primary has been relatively cheap is that this campaign has been conducted to a large degree through televised debates - 11 of them - rather than through expensive paid advertising. This has not only been cheaper, but it has also allowed voters to get a close look at the candidates when they are standing alone before the cameras. While it is true that debating skills are not the same as governing skills, debates give voters a clearer look at candidate than they get in a TV ad created by some Madison Avenue-image maker.

This has not been a top-down primary. In the past, GOP insiders tended to coalesce around a candidate: a George W. Bush or a Bob Dole. But this year, the primary is being determined by the grassroots, which is one of the reasons why there have been shifting alliances as voters analyze each candidate's strengths and weaknesses.

It has not been a perfect process. There are many who might wish that solid gover! nors suc h as Indiana's Mitch Daniels, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former governors such as Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty or Mike Huckabee of Arkansas had either gotten into the race or received a closer look. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a far better governor than she is often given credit for. (See Joshua Green's article in The Atlantic Magazine in June, The Tragedy of Sarah Palin.)

But the process worked.

The polls suggest that emerging from the GOP pack are the two candidates with arguably the broadest experience in government, the most road-tested, the toughest and among the smartest: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

With any luck, Romney and Gingrich will still be battling for the nomination when North Carolina holds its primary in May, giving us a repeat of the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton showdown of four years ago.