After Senate Debate, GOP Still Facing Third And Long

GOP strategists and VIP's from Scott Walker to Paul Ryan no doubt wanted a stronger, more structured performance from Tommy Thompson in Friday night's debate than he provided.

(I live-blogged the debate, here, and summarized it here.)

Walker isn't supposed to be making headlines at this point in the campaign cycle, but his botched chairmanship of the state economic development corporation he created made negative news around the state, and the story broken by the Wisconsin State Journal last week isn't going away given the breadth and weight of the questions that federal authorities are raising about the corporation's legal and financial compliance.

Ryan is out there on the stump - - somewhere, muzzled to an extent except for power pointy chatter  - - as the national GOP ticket struggles with a Presidential candidate now more unpopular than George W. Bush.

And with just six weeks left in a campaign stalled in the 47% range due to writing off 47% of the electorate as lazy bums - - dead in the water since its convention more than a month ago that ended with Dirty Harry cracking wise to an empty chair.

So there was this opportunity in swing state Wisconsin Friday night to have the veteran Tommy Thompson - - signed by Team GOP out of retirement for one last shot at a ring - -  carry the ball and give the starters a breather, but he ran sideways for no gain instead of breaking through the line for a first down.

And we're still trying to figure out at the very time Republicans repeatedly deny that government can do anything right, and have beaten up President Obama for suggesting that government has any role in building things that former Governor Tommy's televised debate playbook called for claiming in the debate "I built Wisconsin."

Post-debate Monday will arrive and present as status quo ante, as my Dad was fond of saying.

Romney/Ryan will be continue to struggle for footing in Wisconsin without a weekend bump or even daylight from Tommy,

Scott Walker will still have to explain to the Feds whether his new shiny corporation spent millions of dollars legally without Tommy having strategically blocked him from the headlines.

And Tommy will be fulminatin' somewhere in Wisthompsin - - Grandiosityville, perhaps - - which he built.

The Onion can't be far behind.

Cross-posted at Purple Wisconsin.