AND SO WE BID A FOND FAREWELL to the first phase of the Republican presidential campaign. It ends in Iowa on Jan. 3, leaving hilarity, outrage and occasional, blistering moments of clarity in its wake. I will not linger on the carnival aspects of the race, from Donald Trump to Herman Cain. Those have stolen far too much attention. A more substantive contest has been going on just beneath the surface—a campaign featuring two men who could plausibly serve as President and some worthy im-plausibles. More important, this slightly subterranean campaign has placed some basic questions about the future of the Republic on the table.
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