Wheel of fish

Before I get in to my real post, I figure since I complained to the Red Wings about the game yesterday, I should take a moment to thank them for the game today. It was one of the most entertaining hockey games I've seen in quite some time. So thank you, Red Wings. Thank you.

Last night I was having trouble sleeping. To help myself sleep, I turned to something that's helped countless Americans get some shut eye - politics. First I thought about John Edwards and how he would have been so much better than John Kerry in the last presidential election. Then, still unable to sleep, I turned to the other favorite companion of the restless - TV. And out of an odd bit of luck, CNN was running the "highlights" of the debate among the democratic candidates, and John Edwards was talking. Then I listened to him speak and thought, 'Really? I'm not sure this is the guy anymore." His handlers seem to have focusgrouped the personality right out of him.

That's not really why I'm writing though. Why am I writing? Because I was wondering, when did we start using game shows to select our presidential candidates? Because what I was seeing didn't really resemble a debate. The stage was lit up. Everyone was standing behind podiums that looked like they were stolen from the sets of any sketchcomedy show that has ever done a skit about some generic game show. And there was a condescending moderator (Wolf Blitzer) who often seemed to be trying to upstage the candidates a la Alex Trebek.

Why are they even bothering with a debate at this point? Isn't the point of a debate to voice the arguments from opposing sides of a subject? How does that work with eight people who all virtually agree on everything? What is the point? What is the point?

It's even worse when you take into account that every one of the candidates had probably five or six points that their handlers told them they must be sure to make during the debate. But with so many people in the debate, each candidate only got five or six quality sessions behind the mic. So they were going to give the answers that they had, regardless of the question. Why even bother with the questions? Why not just go down the line, "Dude, you have five minutes. Say something." Quit pretending it's a debate.

One thing, I thought, was interesting, however. Wolf Blitzer went down the line and asked every one of the candidates if they would support the democratic nominee, whoever it was, if they weren't nominated. All of them said yes. All of them, that is, except Dennis Kucinich. That feisty little bugger. For some reason, he wasn't willing to sign a blank check endorsing a candidate who's policies he did not know. What a bad Democrat. Doesn't he realize that we're in the middle of an election? In times like these, you must support your leader, even if you don't agree with what he stands for. If you don't, the Republicans will win.

I have to steal my gratitude from elephant tonight: "I'm grateful for the Indians because they fought the turkeys (20)."