Watched the Democrat debate this afternoon. It wasn't as hostile as the previous Republican one -- the terrible moderator wasn't quite as unreasonable (not hard to see where her sympathies lie) the insane candidates were barred from the stage, and so things went rather smoothly. Unfortunately there was very little substance on display, basically because there was little on which the three major candidates disagreed. The Democrats, unlike the Republicans, have their talking points in order.
Edwards delivered his standard anti-corporation rant while the others nodded approval; Obama was calm and articulate and "concerned" while the others nodded approval; Hillary cackled too much. They all agreed that Bush is worse than Satan and the nation is going to have to crawl back from the depths of Gehenna where he has cast us. Dodd and Biden and Richardson might as well have not shown up -- they barely registered except as a slightly annoying background buzz. According to the audience Obama and Edwards were fine, Hillary wasn't. She gives the impression that she is fading fast. Now is when we will see just how good the legendary Clinton machine is because the candidate isn't getting the job done and the organization is going to have to carry her. The trouble is that the Clintons specialize in the politics of personal destruction and every time they have used it against Obama it has rebounded back on them. It's going to be a tough haul.
Watching the two debates back to back convinces me that the real grown-up in this whole thing is Romney. Nobody in either party is nearly as impressive. The question, though, is whether he can be elected. The Democrats are hungry and ruthless and filled with ravenous hatred, indulging themselves in horrid paranoid fantasies while the Republicans are flittering off in all directions. Romney may be a good man trapped in a terrible year.
Can he win through to the Presidency? I sure hope so. On the basis of what I have seen none of the Democrats deserves the job and none of the other Republicans measures up. I wish him well.
Stay tuned. Things are starting to shake out and the big game is still ahead.
