Debates and the week ahead...

I watched the the two republican primary debates last night and this morning, kind of a debate double header, which I liked. But I was constantly struck with how out of touch and petty the moderators were. In both cases, they seemed more intent on getting the candidates to argue with each other than to delve into the issues and policies. They seem deliberately counterproductive. It makes me wonder where the agenda comes from... is it a top down type of thing where corporate tells them what the questions should be, or do these "reporters" follow their own ambitions. One thing is for certain, they have little interest in asking about what the public wants to hear. In the great majority of the posted questions online, people wanted to hear the candidates speak about NDAA, and SOPA. These are huge topics for the Facebook crowd, and somehow they were never mentioned in the Facebook Debate! Instead we had a bunch of crap about what "so and so" said in an ad about "so and so," and who controls  their Super PAC's. What a waste of debate time, that stuff is easily handled by a press release, or an interview.

I also feel that Ron Paul didn't get his fair share of time to speak, though I suspect everyone feels that way about their favorite candidate. Dr. Paul did get some good words in, but if he's going to attack someone I wish he would go after Mitt more instead of wasting time on Santorum (who I don't perceive as much of a threat). There just isn't any sense in fighting over 2nd place, who want's to be second? In any case, it is clear that Mitt needs to take some hard knocks if he is going to have his momentum stopped.

One thing that I have come to realize, and I hate to admit it, but Ron Paul is not a great debater. He is soft spoken, stumbles over his words at times, and often gets ahead of himself. Some of this disadvantage is negated by the 24hr news cycle, and the new nature of the news (internet based for most people), because his quotes get played over and over which helps get the message across. Still, it is difficult to predict how a debate with him and Obama will go. It could go very badly, though I do think RP would do much better in a setting where issues and policy are the focus, and he can expound more on his policies. Unfortunately, it seems as if the media is hellbent on keeping this from happening.

On a lighter note, CES is this week! I know all the tech writers out their are whining about it, but that is just because it is work for them. But this really is the CONSUMER Electronics Show, and I am a consumer after all :) So, I can't wait to see all the new tech everyone has been working on, and it should be a nice vacation for my brain when all this political bs gets too overwhelming.