ON WITH THE SHOW

Political theater pays off: Though the Republican debate didn’t incorporate showgirls and a magician Tuesday night, it was nevertheless deemed a food fight, a game show and a duel by multiple critics. But the Las Vegas touch worked for CNN. According to Nielsen, 5.5 million viewers tuned in to see the GOP hopefuls bicker and hiss at one another on a glitzy set, earning CNN top prime-time ratings, compared to rival Fox News with 2 million. The big night in Vegas was the second-most watched of the eight Republican debates, though Fox holds the top honor, drawing 6.1 million viewers for a Sept. 22 bout in Orlando, Fla.

CNN is rushing for more of the same, however. The network is quickly pulling together yet another debate, strategically aligning itself with the conservative Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, to air on Nov. 15 from an as yet undisclosed location in Washington. The debate will center on national security and foreign policy.

The campaign trail never sleeps, meanwhile. In the next 48 hours, Mitt Romney will be in Iowa and Nebraska, Herman Cain goes to Michigan and Indiana, Newt Gingrich is in Arizona, Rep. Michele Bachmann is in California, Rep. Ron Paul is in Iowa and Rick Santorum has run off to New Hampshire. And Texas Gov. Rick Perry? He’ll likely be in Washington on Friday, seeking insider economic advice.

IN A WORD

Politicians may spend hours with image consultants and media coaches, but the public often takes away a simple, persistent impression of them. The Pew Research Center recently asked Americans to describe the three top tier Republican candidates in a single word, and here’s what they got, released Wednesday:

Mitt Romney: “Mormon,” followed by “health care” and “flip flop.” Texas Gov. Rick Perry: “Texas”, followed by “no” and “idiot.” Herman Cain: “9-9-9,” followed by “business” and “interesting.”

WHAT’S BREWING

Uh-oh. This could vex the tea party: The progressive “Coffee Party” has re-emerged, saying it has been “bolstered” by the success of the Occupy Wall Street crowd and now plans its own “citizens intervention” to draw public and media attention to money in politics.

“Everyday Americans from across the country are traveling to Washington for Coffee Party USA’s ‘Enough Is Enough: Citizens Intervention’ rally Oct. 29 on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. During the 14-hour event, hundreds of Americans from all walks of life will exercise their First Amendment right to speak directly to Congress and share their personal stories of how government dysfunction has impacted their lives,” the group says.

THE PROTEST BRAND

The Occupy Wall Street “brand” is emerging full force. Though it is carefully cultivating the air of a groovy 1960s-era protest, the one-month-old movement still pushes the idea that it is mainstream — “middle America rising up,” as organizer Van Jones recently framed it. But wait. The Wall Streeters have conducted a serious demographic survey of 1,617 demonstrators with the help of one Hector R. Cordero-Guzman, a sociologist with the City University of New York.

“The people interested and involved in Occupy Wall Street are well educated and the vast majority are not affiliated with any major political party,” he says. See the complete results here: https://occupywallst.org/media/pdf/OWS-profile1-10-18-11-sent-v2-HRCG.pdf.

New York magazine, meanwhile, quizzed 50 Wall Street crusaders about public affairs. The publication found, for example, that 84 percent of them could not explain the Dodd-Frank Act while 64 percent did not know what “SEC.” stands for. See it all — and take the “Are Your Smarter than a Wall Street Occupier?” quiz — at https://nymag.com (under the “Daily Intel” section).

LITTLE BIT OF SOLE

Political scientists at Texas Tech University claim Mitt Romney will win the 2012 Republican nomination because he’s the tallest of the candidates. There’s more, though. A novelty company that peddles T-shirts says the victory belongs to Herman Cain.

“We’ve seen an absolute surge in Cain’s popularity, with merchandise tagged with Cain’s name accounting for 58 percent of the merchandise sales total for potential GOP nominees. Merchandise tagged with “Mitt Romney,” on the other hand, has accounted for only 6 percent of the nominee sales — a number that has fallen sharply since he held 15 percent in June,” explains Marc Cowlin, spokesman for online retailer Cafe Press.

“Interestingly, the merchandise tagged with ‘Romney‘ that has been doing well are flip flops,” he adds, citing rubber footwear emblazoned with evidence that the former Massachusetts governor has changed his policy line on occasion.

POLL DU JOUR

• 56 percent of Americans have a “great deal/quite a bit” of interest in the primary elections for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

• 50 percent of Americans say President Obama “deserves to be voted out of office,” 46 percent say he deserves re-election.

• 51 percent would vote for Mr. Obama, 42 would vote for Texas. Gov. Rick Perry in an Obama/Perry match-up in 2012.

• 49 percent would vote for Mr. Obama, 43 percent for Herman Cain in an Obama/Cain matchup.

• 48 percent would vote for Mr. Obama, 45 percent for Mitt Romney in an Obama/Romney matchup.

• 47 percent are “satisfied” with the Republican field of candidates, 45 percent are “dissatisfied.”

• 21 percent prefer that Mr. Romney win the nomination; 18 percent cite Mr. Cain, 13 percent Mr. Perry.

Source: An Associated Press/GfK poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Oct. 13-17.

• Theatrics, hubbub, gibberish to jharper@washingtontimes.com

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