Tonight's Debate

I have followed all of the debates. I agree that Kerry won the first. I think the second was a draw at best; I did not come away from the VP debate with any great love for John Edwards. As others have noted, the town-hall style debate was note-worthy for how seldom the candidates actually answered the question with which they had been addressed. I kept turning the volume down; I didn't realize until I read blogs the next day that it was because Georgie-Porgie was shouting.

The point of a debate is to win. You find the facts that support your case, or you state the facts in a way that they support your case. I realize even this formulation is a bit idealistic, but you get the point. Anyone who gets upset because one candidate or the other is not stating the facts clearly just doesn't understand the point.

John Kerry slightly inflates the cost of the war from $120 billion to $200; when I go shopping, I call this "rounding up", believing the extra will help cover sales tax. I suspect Sen. Kerry is rounding up in anticipation of what the war will cost the U.S. by the end of this year.

The Resident twists language by calling something the "Clean Air Act" when it actually makes the air dirtier.

As Sen. Kerry would say, "Which is worse?"

So: tonight the Resident will use the word "liberal" several times per minute. Those who enjoy drinking games are likely to have a hangover tomorrow if they use this word as a cue. In Sen. Kerry's case, the cue would be the number of times he says "I have a plan" without giving at least one concrete step in that plan.

I'll watch and listen, just to see how far the Rovian puppet will go. I'll no doubt yell at the little man who claims to be from Crawford, TX.

I'll vote for Kerry. I'm not as enthusiastic about him as I was Carter or Clinton, but I'll vote for him.

The choice, dear friends, is not between the lesser of two evils. The choice is between pure evil and your average run-of-the-mill politician.