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The much ballyhooed GOP presidential primary debate at the Values Voters Summit was apparently a bust, notable for low-show rank and file participation  -- and no-show leading candidates. WorldNetDaily reports (hat tip to Tacitus):  

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - With "invisible" candidates who failed to show up getting grilled with questions, hundreds of empty seats, not a single mainstream television network on hand, and the name of God invoked countless times, the "unseen world" clearly dominated last night's Republican presidential debate in South Florida.

However, one would never guess that from the press release bravado of the debate sponsors:

The First Ever Values Voter Presidential Debate Straw Poll, held last night at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, declared Governor Mike Huckabee as the pro-family winner.

"While many very good candidates attended the event, Governor Mike Huckabee was the clear winner," said Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action and member of the Values Voter Debate committee. Huckabee received nearly five times the votes of the other candidates.

"The big losers last night were the no-show candidates Fred Thompson who placed at 4 percent, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain who each received 1 percent and Mitt Romney who was the only candidate to receive zero votes at the end of the night.

"How can we expect these no-show candidates to take on Osama Bin Laden and other world leaders when they're afraid to show up and answer questions from Phyllis Schlafly?" asked Rabbi Aryeh Spero of the Jewish Action Alliance, and Values Voter debate panelist. Rick Scarborough, President of Vision America, and Values Voter Debate Committee member added, "If you care about our votes, you need to care about our values enough to show up."

"Unlike other straw polls where candidates have bussed in supporters or paid for their tickets, forty national leaders chose hundreds of delegates who accurately represent America's largest voting block," said Mat Staver, Chairman of Liberty Counsel, and Values Voter Debate committee member. "This is the most important straw poll yet."

Host Committee members include Phyllis Schlafly, Paul Weyrich, Don Wildmon, Mat Staver, Rick Scarborough, and Janet Folger.

"Values Voter Guide DVD's" and video clips of last night's event will be available on the website: www.ValuesVoterDebate.com. While Democrat candidates were invited to a similar forum, all declined.

Writing the day before the event, one of the debate sponsors, Janet Folger declared:  

I predict the Values Voter Straw Poll will unify the pro-family movement and determine the nominee.

Meanwhile, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) who gave a Christian nationalist-themed commencement address at the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, this year, seems to be finally ramping-up his presidential campaign.