ORLANDO — Not all the Republican candidates are huddled in conference rooms with advisers, going over last-minute preparations before the Fox News-Google debate here in Orlando. Some of the participants are a little more relaxed. At lunchtime, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, for example, was hanging around the futuristic media room/playground that Google has provided for the press in the Orlando Convention Center.
Dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a sports shirt, Johnson nibbled on a salad with a couple of aides as various debate staff milled around. How is he doing? “I’m here!” Johnson said, which was a major accomplishment, given his exclusion from several previous debates.
Johnson was invited to the debate after discussions between Fox News and the Republican Party of Florida over what criteria should be used to evaluate his campaign. All agreed with the Fox News standard that the candidate had to have a rating of at least one percent in a series of polls. The question was, should Johnson be rated on polls whether or not those polls actually asked respondents about him — in which case he did not qualify for the debate — or should he be measured only on those polls that did ask respondents about him, in which case he would qualify? In the final decision, Fox officials decided to invite Johnson to the debate. His inclusion means that the debate will have nine candidates — not an unprecedented number, but definitely a challenge for all of the participants.
As for the media room, just about everyone other than the Google officials involved was surprised when Google unveiled a white-carpeted, Jetsons-furnished playroom, complete with foosball table, from which reporters would watch the debate and file stories. The original design did not include pedestrian things like long tables with power strips, at which reporters would sit and tap away at their laptops. Instead, there were a lot of multi-colored beanbag chairs, as well as some movie-style seating. GOP officials quickly asked for a little more traditional layout. There was also concern about the planned placement of the foosball table, which would have been prominently seen in live television reports from the room. So off it went.
