Copyright © 2007 Henrietta W. Hay
Debating 2008
August 10, 2007
A few observations on the election campaign!
Of course the election is a year and a quarter away, but the campaign is going
strong.
I may be the one of the few people around who watched and got a kick out of the political "debates" and all the talk that they started. Of course they aren't debates at all, but a series of short speeches having little to do with the questions.
Webster says: "Debate: To take part in a formal discussion on or a contest in which opposing sides of a question are argued." That is certainly not what took place, but whatever you call it, I find the early political free for all highly entertaining.
The 2008 Presidential election is scheduled for November 4, 2008, which is a year and a quarter away. Yikes. That means 15 months of talk.
Of course, the appalling mess that George Bush and Dick Cheney have made out of this Administration has made American people angry and restless. Most people are in a hurry for change. And the new Democratic Congress which they elected to make changes hasn't succeeded in changing much.
The "debates" on CNN , and all the talk that has taken place since have been very interesting to listen to. And we still have the Republican "debate" coming up on September 17.
Most of the the candidates don't know how to answer a simple question. Or, more probably, they are afraid to. If you ask, "What do you think of chocolate cookies?" most of them will launch off with, "Well, I am strongly in favor of universal health care, and I have spent most of my long and glorious career fighting for it." Honest, that's what most of them do.
There are exceptions. Senator Clinton would say, "I like them."
Most of the commentators agreed that she won the Democratic debate. She spoke calmly and to the point.
She and Senator Obama crossed swords rather delicately. The question was asked, whether the candidates would promise to speak personally with the heads of several
specified countries. Obama said "Yes." Clinton said "No." She explained she would not want to be used as propaganda by some regimes.
John Edwards' wife is probably the best liked candidate spouse. And she speaks out quite freely. Senator Edwards assured his listeners that he believes strongly in the separation of church and state.
On the other side of the barbed wire fence, there was Larry King's interview with Vice President Cheney. King asked whether in the past six years Cheney had ever looked in the mirror and asked himself whether he had ever made a mistake. The answer," No."
Rudolph Giuliani takes the prize for humor. While making a speech to a religious group, an electrical failure cut his microphone with a loud noise. He looked at it and made a great off the cuff comment suggesting that the Almighty apparently wasn't pleased with his speech.
And we have the Republican debate ahead.
It looks as though the future of news television will be pretty solid politics unless Paris Hilton gets in trouble again. I'm looking forward to getting my political junkie itch scratched.