Obama Lite vs. Bush Dark

Tonight’s installment of the “Mitt and Rick Show,” AKA presidential debates, will introduce a new fringe character to be ignored—-former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, who will bring to the party the novelty of a GOP wannabe who favors gay rights.

Meanwhile, the Texas governor keeps providing colorful language for the long-running sitcom by denouncing Romney to Fox News, “We need to nominate someone who has a stark clear difference between the Republican nominee and President Obama. We don’t need to nominate Obama-lite.”

This potentially racist remark won’t gain as much traction as “Ponzi scheme” in Florida unless it prompts one of the other candidates desperate for attention to dub Perry “George W. Bush dark” for his record highs of executions and lows of health care coverage.

Otherwise, tonight's chapter could well be titled “Bye Bye Bachmann” as the once electric star of the show gets the Charlie Sheen treatment in “Two and a Half Men,” a political funeral for the firebrand who is now down to 5 percent in the New Hampshire polls (Newt Gingrich territory) as Romney leads with 41 to Ron Paul’s 14 and Jon Huntsman’s up-and-coming 10.

While the sheeplike media keep focusing on Perry’s surge, there are rumblings in the background such as Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel’s plea for new candidates and Sarah Palin’s hint of a November decision. And somewhere in a smoke-filled room, Karl Rove and other Bush loyalist must be chanting “Jeb! Jeb! Jeb!”