Democratic Debate Recap

I watched the debate.

I was excited for this historic moment.

It turned out to be a lovefest.

Ebony and Ivory, come together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don't weeeee?

Capitol Hill came to Hollywood and got all "picture pefect" on me.

I heard Kanye's "Flashing Lights" repeating in my head.

WTF?

Wolf Blitzer promised that the debate would cover "substantive issues", which I suppose, it did. However, the outcome seemed so rosy. So Tinseltown. Plus, there were tons of celebs there, it was like an awards show.

The candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, opened the debate by heaping loads of praise, deservedly so, on John Edwards. Ok, we get it, he will be missed. Not!
Don't get me wrong, I like Edwards, but he was in the way of destiny, and it was time for him to bow out.

Next, they jumped right into differences on policy.

On healthcare, they both agree that all Americans should be covered, although their methods for getting us to that utopia differ. Barack wants to lower the overall cost of healthcare so that it is affordable to those who wish to have it. Hillary wants healthcare to be "universal",but she will "require" us to all buy some. At what cost, I am uncertain, but be sure that a tax increase is on the horizon either way.

Their solutions to the mortgage mess include a foreclosure moratoriam and five month rate freeze for Hillary, and a Barack will institute a forclosure prevention fund of about 150 billion and a correction of governmental oversight. I think that they should let folks come and live in the white house with them until this mess is fixed. I bet they will fix it in a hurry, then.

Immigration was an interesting issue, considering the debate was taking place right here in Mexi...oops, I mean LA. Lets face it, this is a touchy subject in California, and while I side with Barack on this one, I am not sure if either candidate will get it right at days end. Let me explain. A woman asked the question, "How does immigration affect the African American community?", answering first, Barack was firm in his belief that inner city unemployment rates are not related to immigration. Basically what he said is that Latinos are not taking your jobs, there were never any for you from the get go. Senator Obama wants to crackdown on the exploitation of undocumented workers by those who employ them cheaply. Senator Clinton trumpets "comprehensive immigration reform" and a tightening of the borders. She insists that we should do more to help Mexico. Excuse me, but the worlds richest man lives in Mexico. Obviously, they are generating money. I'd like to know what she means by "help". She wants to institute criteria by which undocumented persons take a path to legalization. She wants them to EARN their way into the country. Go figure. My people were forced here, now Brown people have to travel an obstacle course to get in.

The debate became most entertaining when the subject of war was introduced. Hillary says withdrawal of our troops will take time and must be done carefully and strategically. While she will begin bringing folks home within sixty days of her tenure, she admits that it could take up to a year to get the ball rolling. She thinks its time to call the Iraqui government to the carpet so that they can take responsibility for themselves. Barack believes that our long term security is in jeopardy the longer we stay in Iraq because the economic consequences will be staggering. He claims that he will bring the troops home within six months of the beginning of his presidency, and that a clear date must be set in order for the withdrawal to be taken seriously. He emphasized that he NEVER supported the war, and wants to end it now, along with the mindset that got us there in the first place.
Hillary was called out by Wolf Blitzer about her decision to vote with Young Bush on going to war, wondering aloud if she were naive in her decision making. It was a sharp and pointed question that through her off kilter a bit, but she insisted that she made a "reasoned judgement" and GWB was not "reasoned" in his execution. Basically she trusted that he would "Do The Right Thing", but in the end she was "Bamboozled". Personally, I can't understand how a woman with first hand knowledge of the first Bush administration could put her trust in anything that the bew Bush would say or do. I don't believer her. She needs more people.

From there it just became more lovey dovey, with one candidate extolling the virtues of the other. They were asked if they would run on the ticket together and they both gave a politically correct answer. Honestly, I don't see that happening. If I remember correctly, Barack stated on Oprah's show that he is not in this to become the Vice President. Only time will tell. Tuesday here we come.