Is this the best American discourse can present?

Is this the best American discourse can present? The vice presidential debate, and the second presidential debate were most notable for their lack of any true debate. Instead these events are more like simultaneous live commercials.

The VP debate was predictable to anyone who knew that Palin has a track record as a successful debater. She didn't fall on her face but she really didn't have the experience to do much more than recite sound bites, mostly she got them in where she was supposed to although some times she missed things. in debating Biden's record on the war it was clear to me that she was referring to the period of the surge, while Biden was talking about the start of the war. this allowed Biden to assert things with Palin only able to babel on about how Biden was not telling the truth. Holding people to the truth is difficult if you are ahistorical. The good news from the debate is that the Republicans lead cultural warrior has conceded the rights of civil unions for gay couples. We shouldn't stop here but at least it's an example of the Republicans moving to the left. More on that in a later post.

The second presidential debate was called a town meeting format. That they call this spectacle a "town meeting" is an affront to democracy and the New England tradition of town meetings. The assembly is an important form of direct democracy. Among New Englanders the town meetings are an example of the assembly: citizens meeting to discuss issues and make decisions. Instead we get preselected questions primarily from individuals who are politically in the middle of the road. Theatrically individuals are called on and recite their script. The highlight of the show was when Tom Brokaw asked the candidates to move because they were blocking the teleprompter, and the cameras let us see this device that we hear about but seldom actually see.

The second debate was basically a rerun of the first debate. McCain started with a moment of populism, saying he would direct the treasury secretary to renegotiate loans to present market values, this of course is something the bail out package allows for. Beyond that initial remark everything else from him sounded like something I had already heard. Obama mostly repeated things said in the last debate, sometimes repeating himself in quoting him self. On Pakistan: "what I said was if Pakistan is "unable or unwilling" to do this job, and U.S. forces have Osama bin Laden in their sights, then U.S. forces will "kill bin Laden and crush al Qaeda." At least when quoting himself for the second time he could have expounded on this just a bit, indicating his intent to work with Pakistan to assure that they would be willing and able to work to capture Bin Ladin. Obama once again jabbed at Venezuela. This is a shame because Venezuela's progressive politics maybe beneficial to American political tendencies that Obama is aligned with. This also deserves elaboration in a future post. I felt that Obama won the debate with his last two comments. the second to last comment was a response to a question about defending Israel against an Iranian attack. Of course to be considered as a contender for the US senate say nothing about the presidency, Obama has had to show his support for Israel. But I give him credit for indicating that he would like to try to keep things from getting to that point. In the present climate of American middle eastern politics even that modest statement is progressive. Obama's closing remarks held some rhetorical strength. McCain on the other hand seemed to wander with empty political platitudes during his final statement. I'm starting to wonder if one of the advantages that Obama has over McCain in the debates is that McCain gets worn out after an hour, while Obama get wormed up around then.

In any case the debate was largely a collection of sound bites. I would prefer a more focused debate, an hour an a half on exit strategies for Iraq, on an hour and a half on next steps for the economy. Palin showed us that anyone can memorize lines and make it through a pseudo debate. Our politics need to move to the left, but we also need depth.