A REAL SLEEPER OF A DEBATE

My Mom just told me that last night's debate was the 18th one this year. Really? I don't think I missed any of them....I mustn't actually have a life after all. I thought the one last night was a real sleeper. It took me a while to figure out what was making me dose off, then I realized that the audience was more like a group of relatives who don't actually remember each other in a funeral home. I heard Brian Williams say that he'd asked the audience to withhold their applause, but I didn't hear him say not to breathe.

In that tomb-like atmosphere, the energy seemed to be missing altogether, and what ensued was pretty dull. Seems to me that the whistles and catcalls and hisses and boos in previous debates helped to determine at least some peoples leanings towards one candidate or another. I've found these (18...yikes) debates to be really entertaining, but last night felt like an I LOVE LUCY rerun without the laugh track...and there really WAS a live audience there....I think.

Just when I think I've typed the dreaded Rick Santorum name for the last time, the guy makes my hair stand up again. Yesterday a woman at some town meeting began her question like this..." President Obama is a Muslim'.....and we know he has no legal right to hold the office of president...." Mr Santorum did not correct her in any way. When someone said something very similar to John McCain, he immediately set the person straight, and I respected him for doing so. Santorum...Mr Family Values...Mr Principles...Mr Character..Mr Truthfulness. If he was a Muslim, there would be nothing wrong with that, but he isn't, What if someone would say to Mr. S. " Mitt Romney is a homosexual...and has no legal right to be president"...nothing wrong with being a homosexual either...but he isn't. This hit the bottom of the barrel for me with Santorum...I thought.

When the questions got around to Iran...Santorum seemed to be the most trigger happy. This guy would intervene with the Terri Schaivo drama to try to keep her alive, but certainly sounds raring to go with bombing another country, taking out their air force and no doubt killing thousands of people. I'm sure there were some silent boos after that rant. At the same time I'd be ready to cheer when Ron Paul jumps all over these guys when they suggest yet another war.

They say that silence implies complicity...but last night seemed like a big waste of time. Woof had no interest in the debate from the get-go (she's a staunch democrat) and my partner lasted about fifteen minutes, then started to read a November issue of Good Housekeeping...interrupting every few minutes to suggest that I make a "pumpkin parfait" or a "double down chocolate cake". ( He started his diet yesterday)