Double Post Thursday!

To make up for my lack of posting and because this really irks me I'm doing my first annual double-post Thursday. Look for my next one in 2009!

There is a lot of complaining on both sides about the lack of content regarding real issues coming from the candidates. While these complaints are certainly justified, can we take aim at the media for a while?

Candidates live & die by their image, not their take on issues. As much as I would like this not to be true, it is. Where do candidates get their image from....the media.

During the Republican debate a week ago, the moderators went down the line asking a different question to each candidate. Mostly Iraq and illegal immigration stuff. They get to dear old Ron Paul.

Congressman Paul, many of your supporters call themselves 9/11 Truthers. They believe that the U.S. government was in some way complicit with the 9/11 attacks or covered it up. Are you tonight prepared to either embrace that rhetoric or ask those supporters to abandon it, or divorce themselves from your candidacy?

What does this have to do with anything? Does Mit Romney have to answer for those in his religion (and undoubtedly support him) who live on compounds and believe in plural marriages? What about the bands of ultra-conservative militia types who support the other candidates...are we going to dig those up and find who they endorse so we can confront the candidates with this?

I turned off the last Democratic debate in Las Vegas, not because of the candidates, but because of the schlock coming from the moderators.

A question to the white male Senator Edwards:

Why should I, as a progressive woman, not resent being forced to choose between the first viable female candidate and the first viable African American candidate? What is a white male to do running against these historic candidacies?

This was followed by a bunch of questions about Hillary's New Hampshire tearfest (a la Tom Hanks - "There's no crying in politics!), and the apparent tag team Hillary bashing by Edwards and Obama.

I think Fox, MSNBC and everyone else are trying to dump Kucinich and Ron Paul from these debates because they actually think for themselves, are not tools of some right- or left-wing agenda, and in turn, get in the way of the media's manipulation of the images of the remaining 'electable' candidates.

I'll end with some uplifting news - it looks like there is a strong chance our next President has taken Public Speaking 101...much to the chagrin of daily calendar makers and stand-up comedians.