During the great depression, greedy promoters staged sadistic endurance contests: cross-country footraces, flagpole sitting, weeks-long walkathons. The worst of these were the dance marathons, in which contestants suffered privation, humiliation and sometimes permanent damage in the faint hope of winning a paltry prize. An enlightened nation finally turned against these appalling spectacles.
But now with the return of economic hard times, something disturbingly similar has cropped up in states around the country. They call it the Republican presidential campaign.
After more than 20 televised debates and two months of voting, the four remaining candidates are staggering glassy-eyed toward Super Tuesday, March...