I Watch, So You Don't Have To

I am glad that I do not have any TiVo or DVR capabilities in my house. As I tell Cherie, I do not need television to be more attractive for me. It's already pretty darn appealing. If I had TiVo at this early stage of the 2008 race, I would be the biggest political geek in Chantilly (that assumes that I am not already Chantilly's biggest political geek). I have recently caught myself watching candidate events on C-SPAN, events that sometimes involve nothing more than Guiliani buying a dog's chew toy (true story) or Dennis Kucinich hugging elderly supporters on a Manchester street. Thank goodness the baseball playoffs start soon. I need the diversion.

I mention TiVo because I could have used that technology tonight. While surfing the channels, I came across another live Democratic candidate debate, this one sponsored by AARP and Iowa Public Television. Yes, I watched an Iowa Public Television program tonight, and yes, it was better than watching Guiliani purchase dog toys. With TiVo, I could have recorded and watched the whole show at a later more convenient time. Without it, I had to miss a good portion while handling bedtime routines, bathroom breaks, and "how was your day" conversations. That's OK, though. Most Americans probably would only watch bits and pieces, too, and make their voting decisions based on the same minimum amount of viewing and listening. I like to pretend I am just like "Every Voter", a highly sought after constituency. OK, maybe I don't need to pretend.

Now I know things are getting dull when even the declared candidates don't all show up for the debate. Obama, Kucinich, and Gravel were not in attendance. That left the manageable group of Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Richardson, and Edwards. Each candidate actually got to speak, and occasional rebut another candidate's point. Bravo. I look forward to fewer voices.

This is what I observed:

Richardson supports and would advocate for a Constitutional Amendment for a balanced budget. Of course, he stated that he would insist on exceptions of times of war, recession, or national emergency. I am always skeptical of leaders who want to solve problems by messing with the Constitution. Smells like a cop out for making tough decisions. Besides, is there ever a time that the US is not either at war, in a recession, or in a period of national emergency? I think he's reaching a bit.

None of the candidates agreed that the retirement age for Social Security benefits should be raised. In 1935, when the Social Security Act was enacted, the average life expectancy n this country was 61.7 years. In 2004, it was 77.9 years. Given that change alone, how could an increase in the retirement age be off the table? Oh, yeah, AARP sponsored the debate. That explains that.

John Edwards would establish an emergency fund to bail out homeowners in danger of foreclosure because of the subprime interest crisis. I have to ask - how would the government separate victims of predatory lenders from the dumb homeowners who, in spite of sound advice, dove into subprime loans, fully aware of the gamble? Some people bet and lost. I didn't bet. So why am I bailing them out again?

Biden pushed his 3 territory partition plan for Iraq again. He believes we should organize Iraq into a loose federation of 3 areas (Sunni, Shiite, Kurd) and that they should share revenue. I have heard this several times, but each time, it sounds a bit like imperialism - we conquered you, and now we will split you into pieces and provide "support". So much for democracy. The 3 state solutions sounds great, if we could convince the Iraqis that it was their idea, and they voted for it in a democratic fashion. But imposing that solution sounds like a recipe for blow back later, when my kids are of draft age.

My summary thoughts: Dodd sounded liberal (in the caricature way); Biden looks to be continuing his upward swing in the Iowa fields and seemed much more likable; Clinton sounded very much like a front runner afraid to make a mistake, and I think it is too early for her to play defense; Edwards came across as the tax-and-spend representative of the party; and the middle class should be getting a pretty good gift from all you $200,000+ annual income earners in 2009 (and you know who you are...).

JS