Debate Masters

Here's the coda to James Wolcott's post this morning:

I would advise Kerry to reach into Bush's chest and pull out his beating heart and hold it up to the world if I didn't think it might upset some of the 'Security Moms' whose votes could prove so decisive in the coming election.

Not entirely bad advice. Previously, Wolcott bemoaned the "schoolyard taunting" that's defined the punditry of, well, certainly Fox News, if not the entire press corps. And when the big shots in the national media aren't engaged in serious discussion of whether or not John Kerry's tan is the result of UV radiation or a bottle of bronzing agent, they pass the ball to local hacks who don't seem to know the difference between genuine news and campaign spin.

The previous link is courtesy of Timshel, and if you have a moment, check out his own take on the matter.

Now, from what I've heard and seen, the debate itself will supposedly be less sound-byte derby and more Sominex...whereupon any of a number of pundits, either directly in the employ of partisan organizations or fellow travelers, will begin the process of pontification. The process itself is annoyingly slow, since the pontificators lack a critical component that any self respecting pontiff usually insists upon--ad hoc infallibility--and must instead rely upon provocative evasion until the tea leaves/polls permit a veer towards one or the other candidate. Once identified, sound clips will provide both an after-the-fact justification (combined with a "reinterpretation" of their initial evasiveness) and a resume bullet point which will serve to explain the need for further television appearances by the pundit in question.

I guess that could be considered good for the economy, if nothing else. Otherwise unemployable gasbags presumably need food, shelter, and clothing as much as anyone.

If this was a real forum, though, I think this editorial from the Texas Iconoclast of Crawford, Texas (yes, Bush's hometown), is a good starting point for any genuine questions one might have for our dress-up-in-a-flight-suit-in-chief. I'm sure most folks stopping by have likely seen it, but if you have the time, give it one more look. Whoever is asking the questions tonight couldn't do much better for a crib sheet than the entire piece.