Appeared in The New Republic on October 31, 2011

This week, on November 5, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich will face off in an unmoderated, three-hour debate proudly styled after the famous 19th century showdowns between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. There are, of course, a few differences between the two events: Lincoln and Douglas were running for Senate; Newt and Cain are running for the White House. Lincoln and Douglas were discussing the role of slavery in the future of the republic; Newt and Cain will probably be discussing the differences, or lack thereof, between apples and oranges. But in honor of their bold attempt at reenactment, we here at TNR wanted to humbly suggest a few more great moments in American history for these two to take on.