Presidential (yawn) Debates

Tomorrow...the first debate, sponsored by The Commission on Presidential Debates.

If only it was sponsored by Doritos or Goodyear or somebody, like a Superbowl halftime report.

You may recall when the debates were sponsored by the networks or by the League of Women Voters, an independent group who had the balls to stand up to the Republican and Democratic National Committees. The LOWV set the rules and the parties followed along. That went on until the late eighties, when the parties decided they wanted to run them and created the Commission on Presidential Debates.

If you didn't know, the CPD was formed by top guys at the two parties and is as independent as a tapeworm. Since the debates are popular and used by many to judge candidates, the CPD wanted to make sure their candidates would shine. What we have now is nothing except a PR staging.

The candidates have a short time to answer a question known in advance posed by a moderator. This means Mr. Kerry, for example, gets to script a perfect answer, saying just what he wants us to hear. The candidates are NOT allowed to directly question each other, which removes any semblance to a debate, and just go back and forth reciting rehearsed speeches. President Bush, for example, gets to ignore anything his opponent says and merely hit his taught speaking points.

And the gullible American public just eats it up, electing the assclown we deserve. I'm proud that the PR teams and campaign strategists get to choose our leader, and that so many of us enjoy being duped and manipulated.

May the best party apparatus win!