Debatable

Remember that sorry-assed web site that popped up right after the 2004 presidential election? I feel like starting a new blog in the same vein, but for New Mexicans only. Something along the lines of… “We’re Sorry, America. The rest of New Mexico isn’t as clue-impaired as Bill Richardson…” And I’d publish pics sent in by New Mexicans apologizing for inflicting Richardson on America. Sorta like the one you see on the right. But... umm... literate, ya know?

What a noob… second only to that gnome Kuchinich. Or maybe Ron Paul.

I danged near took a picture this morning of YrHmblScrb holding up a elegantly crudely drawn apology but opted for posting the sunrise, instead.

You’re welcome.

So, yeah, I watched the debates last night. Most of ‘em, anyway, and that’s a first for me. Whereas I’d watched only parts of the previous debates… snippets, actually… the time has come to begin paying attention. I picked a good place to start, as these two back-to-back Republican/Democrat debates were perhaps the best-run of the lot, so far. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. ABC’s Charles Gibson was an effective moderator, the questions were reasonable (for the most part), and the debate was gratifyingly snowman-free. As a matter of fact, even though the debates were co-sponsored by Facebook, the “new media’s” influence was subdued…hardly visible at all. That’s A Good Thing in my book, given the idiotic way YouTube was used in the early going. It looked like the adults were in charge last evening, and I like that. Thank you, ABC. You, too, Facebook.

I’ll have to admit I just couldn’t stomach the entire Democratic debate and switched off (by muting the teevee) about half-way through the second Democrat segment. It got pretty damned ridiculous whenever Santa Fe’s Village Idiot and John Edwards had the floor. OTOH, I could actually listen to Clinton and Obama and… they occasionally made sense (were you sitting down for that?).

I’ll assume you’re still sitting down when I say the Democrat portion of the debate was more enlightening than the Republican portion, which really amounted to little more than “Get Mitt.” While the attacks couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy (IMHO) and produced some great one-liners, they weren’t exactly informative or served to differentiate the candidates from each other. Time magazine’s Michael Scherer characterized the Republican portion of the debates as “The GOP’s High School Debate,” and I tend to agree with his metaphor, if not his conclusions.

My guy ain’t doin’ so well lately. But then again, neither are the other guys. Iowa aside, I think Huckabee will be a non-player as this mess continues, with the exception of South Carolina, where he’ll probably win. Romney’s too frickin’ plastic for me and is the very definition of “opportunist” in my political dictionary. I don’t trust Fred but I like the things he says about Federalism, small government, and dead-terrorists. Ron Paul has (a few) good Libertarian ideas, but his foreign policy approach defines him as a wacko nut-case. So that leaves McCain. I could go there… support him… with few problems, especially when viewed against the eventual Democrat nominee, no matter whom that might be.

Interesting times.