Credit CNN with trying to shake things up in an otherwise dull, exasperating
and too-long campaign season with its YouTube Democratic presidential
"debate" Monday night. There was a good deal of silliness, like Sen. Chris
Dodd claiming he has white hair because he's a hardworking senator (what
does that make senators with dark hair, dyed hair or no hair?).
There were also poignant moments, like the woman who suffers from breast
cancer wanting to know more about preventive medicine.
As before, this was not a real debate. This was a boring version of
"American Idol," or worse, a political rip-off of "The Price is Right" (How
much do you think each candidate is worth? Come on down!)
Sen. Hillary Clinton gave the most responsible answer to a question about
meeting with dictators like Fidel Castro and Kim Jong-Il (Barack Obama said
he would meet with them and other dictators because, "The notion that
somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them is ridiculous.").
Sen. Clinton said, "I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes," which
is a major reason why U.S. presidents don't meet with dictators. It was the
correct answer, but even this was a flip from the opposite position she took
in April when she said she would talk with those enemies.
The candidates predictably expressed a desire to retreat from Iraq, some
faster than others, but none predicted what would follow, or how as
president he or she would fight those who wish to kill more of us should
al-Qaida take over and use Iraq as a terrorist base.
The problem with televised cattle calls is that the moderator and audience
take at face value what politicians tell them. It is as if they are
expressing themselves for the first time on every subject and Democrats are
rarely asked about contradictory positions they've taken and whether it was
conviction, or focus groups, that "converted" them. Republicans are always
asked such questions.
Here is one of my follow-up questions: Sen. Clinton, you have repeatedly
opposed setting a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq, saying as
recently as 2005, "I don't think we should be setting a deadline. Š That
just gives a green light to the insurgents and the terrorists, that if they
wait us out they can basically have the country. It's not in our interests,
given the sacrifices we've made." Do you now believe the insurgents and
terrorists would not take over the country and use it as a base to come
after us here?