More interest: The number of Republican candidates not really a punchline

 There is no question -- 16 candidates is quite a haul. But then again, 10 is quite a few, too.

So, it is understandable that there is going to need to be a winnowing process to conduct the Republican debates.

After all, there probably are some logistical limits to how many candidates can successfully participate on a debate stage. And there is the time factor, the campaign limits and the sheer headache of trying to listen to everybody and to sort out who is serious and who is going to cash in their chips early.

But then again, why not listen?

While the Democrats might laugh at the volume, maybe there is a reason to think positively about the crowd of Republicans who are eager to offer themselves as candidates for the nation's top job.

The problem with so many national, state, and sometimes local, races is that there is not enough choice, that not enough people even want the job.

So it is nice to have a choice, nice to have positions and promises to compare and viewpoints to question.

And, who knows, in the end it might be better to have a choice -- rather than a coronation.

So let the debates begin -- and watch them.

It is what democracy is all about.

Published in Editorials on July 28, 2015 2:37 PM