WILL THE NEXT GOP CANDIDATE NOT ACCEPT THE MSM’S TERMS FOR DEBATE? I don’t just mean adopting Newt’s ability to use liberal debate moderators as chew toys. (Though that’s not a bad start.) I mean accepting which topics are and aren’t on the table to discuss during the campaign itself.

But in 2008, John McCain was afraid to mention Rev. Wright, for fear of being branded a crypto-racist. It didn’t matter; the media did so anyhow. (And then, like previous allegations against Joe Biden, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, once McCain lost, nobody cared or remembered; the r-word’s constant use by the left has denuded it into a tactical weapon, not a nuclear one.)

In 2012, Mitt Romney was afraid to bring up Benghazi for fear it would make him look like he was losing the election. Again, it didn’t matter – he lost.

I realize that being a presidential candidate is the equivalent of being the very visible CEO of an immense multimillion dollar enterprise that seeks to influence sixty million customers to buy its product. And life in that fishbowl existence makes anyone increasing reluctant to shoot from the hip, particularly as November approaches. And particularly, when you’re a GOP candidate who knows that your every statement will cause an enormous negative counter-reaction from the left.

But could the next GOP candidate grow more of a spine, and stop accepting what the MSM determines is and isn’t out of bounds for him to discuss?