Here's a prediction: Assuming nobody else backs out, December 27, 2011, will go down in history as a date of monumental importance to the future of American politics. It will end up rivaling the first televised presidential debate in the sense that nothing will ever be the same again after it passes. Think I'm making too much of Newsmax's decision to allow Donald Trump to host the GOP debate scheduled for that date? Think again.

International observers have pointed out that this year's Republican primary contest already reminds them of reality TV. But once Trump gets his hands on a debate, this will be impossible to deny. We will have finally crossed the line from political debate as informative to political debate as pure spectacle. We will have shown the world that we are no longer serious about selecting qualified individuals to lead our great nation.

Trump is not merely a buffoon; he's a living symbol of much of what is wrong with American politics and culture. Watching C-list celebrities humble themselves before him on Celebrity Apprentice is bad enough, but at least we know we're watching televised garbage when we do so. Setting up a situation where candidates for the American presidency must feign respect for Trump is so absurd that it just might be the point of no return.

It will be interesting to see which candidates are smart enough to refuse to be part of Trump's debate. So far, it seems that most of them have decided to skip it. They have at least two good reasons they can use to do so: Trump's recent threats to get back in the race and his "birtherism." Either would give candidates a way out, and I sincerely hope that most will take it.

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