If you were among those who tuned in for the CNN debate between former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Wednesday night, I'll bet you could recite the name of the website Haley's campaign set up to fact-check DeSantis in your sleep. Not because it was particularly clever or catchy. But because Haley insisted on repeating it. Over. And over. And over again. 

The first few times, I thought, "Okay, that's kind of annoying, but I get what she's trying to do." By the fifth, I was rolling my eyes so hard I strained them. By the 14th, I was ready to throw something at the TV. Not because I'm a DeSantisStan or can't brook the thought of a politician being less than truthful or their opponent calling them out/attempting to paint them as such. But because it was so over-the-top gimmicky and silly. 

Yes, campaigns need slogans. And yes, politicians forced to deliver multiple campaign speeches and debate performances are going to repeat themselves of necessity. But when it comes off like a bad Ginsu Knives or Billy Mays commercial, it's no sale for me. Truthfully, during Wednesday's debate, it came off worse than one of those ads because it seemed like Haley was retreating to it as a verbal crutch, and that made her appear defensive, flustered, and ill-prepared. 

Unlike many in the more conservative wing of the Republican base, I don't dislike Haley. I do agree that she's more establishment than grassroots, and I do think it's fair to scrutinize who her donors are. I also think it's fair to criticize the multiple missteps she's made, including the weird advocacy for scuttling online anonymity, the "correcting" Iowa voters comment, and her seeming inability to link the Civil War to slavery. 

READ MORE: 

Nikki Haley's Opposition to Anonymity in the Public Square Is Disqualifying and Historically Ignorant

Nikki Haley Makes Statement About 'Correcting' Iowa Voters, and It Isn't Going Over Well

Haley's Explanation for Civil War Question Snafu: 'A Democrat Plant' Made Me Do It

But I'd take Haley in a heartbeat over Joe Biden or anyone the Democrats may offer up as a nominee. I also recognize that she may be more appealing to independents and centrist Dems who've become disenchanted with Biden, which is a strong selling point for the general election, but not so much in the primary. 

Which is where we are at the moment — in the primary. Voters in Iowa will have an opportunity in just four short days to show up and caucus in favor of their preferred candidate. Given the weather forecast, we can be reasonably assured that those who do participate on Monday will be of the dedicated variety. Which means the chances of them being undecided at this stage of the game are lower than Joe Biden's approval ratings. 

National Weather Service data shows there has never been a colder Iowa caucus night than what’s forecast for Jan. 15. The previous coldest was in 2004, when the high temperature for that year’s Jan. 19 caucuses was 16 degrees.

“We may not warm above zero degrees on Monday,” said Des Moines-based meteorologist Chad Hahn. “I would not be surprised if we don’t get above minus-20 degrees for wind chills beginning on Sunday.”

But let's assume there's an appreciable segment of caucus-goers who started Wednesday night undecided. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I have serious difficulty believing the repeated fallback to a website — exhorting viewers to go looking for substance rather than delivering it while standing right in front of them — accomplished anything positive for the Haley campaign. 

I'm not an Iowan, but I'm just south of there in Missouri, and one of those stubborn Midwestern, irascible conservative sorts who doesn't take kindly to being badgered or sloganed to death. It's that very oppositionally defiant stance that undergirds much of the right's resistance to the top-down, authoritarian, conformity-seeking type of governance we've seen far too much of in recent years. It's sort of America's raison d'être. 

So, being texted or emailed multiple times with breathless warnings of dire consequences or promises of "5X Matching!!1!1!" doesn't do much for me. Just like being oversold on a campaign website that promises to show how Candidate X is a Lying McLiarFace. Those are the sorts of approaches that are liable to make me delete and/or do the exact opposite. You're not going to annoy me into donating or voting for you.  

I suppose somewhere, with some folks, this approach may work. Or, at least, there are well-compensated consultants who insist it does. But it doesn't fly in my world. So, no, I won't be checking out that website — Nikki Haley made certain of that Wednesday night.