Under the criteria just announced by CNBC for participation in the next Republican presidential debate…
National polls will be used to determine a candidate’s eligibility and placement on the stage. To be eligible to appear in either segment, a candidate must have at least 1 percent in any one of the methodologically sound and recognized national polls conducted by: NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN and Bloomberg, released between September 17, 2015 and October 21, 2015.
To appear in the 8 p.m. debate a candidate must have an average of 3 percent among these polls. The polls will be averaged and will be rounded up to 3 percent for any candidate with a standing of 2.5 percent or higher. Candidates who average below that will be invited to the 6 p.m. debate.
…Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal and George Pataki will be debating at 6 p.m., while everyone else debates at 8 p.m.. Lindsey Graham will not qualify until he hits one percent in a national poll.
Meanwhile, the 8 p.m. stage will feature Trump, Carson, Fiorina, Rubio, Bush, Cruz, Kasich, Christie, and Huckabee. Rand Paul is on the bubble right now with a 2.4 average in the last five national polls.
This is insanity. Why have three or four men debating, and then nine or ten competing for air time in prime time? Why not split it into six and seven?