Yawn. Let’s stop pretending there will be a Presidential Debate tonight, shall we?
Tonight is actually the first in a series of so-called debates, and the topic du jour is foreign policy. There will be a couple more of these before the big day in November. But this isn’t going to be like some of the decisive debates of the past. There will be no decisive I-can’t-believe-he-said-that moment, no clear winner except the man you favored to begin with. Don’t expect any “let me say this about that,” nor any “there you go again.” In fact, we’ll be lucky to get a “fuzzy math!” or a “gridlock!”
First of all, I think most of us are clear on where the candidates stand if we have paid attention.
More importantly, however, this isn’t a real debate. There’s nothing spontaneous being said, minimal interaction between the candidates, no truly independent arbiter, no deep issues, and an audience — required to be undecided and silent — that may as well be painted cardboard. It would be an improvement to let Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry each run an infomercial instead. What a waste of time and money. If you really must watch, have one of these Bingo cards in hand. Hit reload if you want a better one.
I can only hope my pathetically low expectations will be exceeded.