Joe covered this below but here is my take:

Just when you thought the Republican primary couldn’t get any more ridiculous it did.  How do you say clown show? This is how – Trump to Moderate Republican Debate.

It’s officially a reality television Republican primary now.

Donald Trump is pairing up with Newsmax, the conservative magazine and news Web site, to moderate a presidential debate in Des Moines on Dec. 27.

“Our readers and the grass roots really love Trump,” said Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media. “They may not agree with him on everything, but they don’t see him as owned by the Washington establishment, the media establishment.”

Mr. Trump’s role in the debate, which will be broadcast on the cable network Ion Television, is sure to be one of the more memorable moments in a primary season that has already delivered its fair share of circus-like spectacle.

Fortunately for the Republicans very few people will see this debate.  As Doug Mataconis  says:

To the extent that the 2012 Presidential campaign wasn’t already a farce, it will become one on December 27th

In an earlier post Doug points out that the Republican party has become a joke internationally.

Scott Horton passes along an excerpt from an article in the German newsweekly Der Spiegel [link is in German] regarding the race for the Republican nomination:

“Africa is a country. The Taliban rule in Libya. Muslims are terrorists. Immigrants are mostly criminals, Occupy Wall Street protesters are always dirty. And women who claim to have been sexually molested should kindly keep quiet.”

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Republican Party. Or rather: to the distorted world of its presidential campaign. For months it has coiled through the country like a traveling circus, from debate to debate, from scandal to scandal, contesting the mightiest office in the world — and nothing is ever too unfathomable for them… These eight presidential wannabes are happy enough not only to demolish their own reputations but also that of their party, the once worthy party of Abraham Lincoln. They are also ruining the reputation of the United States.

 

They lie, deceive, scuffle and speak every manner of idiocy. And they expose a political, economic, geographic and historical ignorance compared to which George W. Bush sounds like a scholar. Even the party’s boosters are horrified by the spectacle…

Yes the very same party that talks about Obama’s “apology” tour is making the US look like a country of fools who should not be taken seriously.

Cross posted at Newshoggers.