NPR used the time normally allotted to Talk of the Nation to host a debate among seven of the Democrats running for President (Governor Richardson was attending the funeral of a serviceman killed during the Korean War. Richardson was responsible for getting his remains returned to the U.S.). I listened to it live and thought it went very well, and so did the NYT's Caucus blog. You can listen to the debate from a link at the NPR story above.
There were only three topics discussed: Iran, China, and Immigration. Because of that, and because it wasn't televised (nor was there a studio audience), it was very civil, very relaxed and a lot more in-depth than the ones we've been seeing on the tube. The immigration discussion made me remember once again why I'm a Democrat; there was none of the nativist rhetoric we heard just last week at the Republican debate. Instead, there were very thoughtful and pragmatic answers from all of them.
NPR fact-checked the event concurrently (you may have to scroll down and even click the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page).
Posted by Linkmeister at December 4, 2007 01:05 PM | TrackBackDo you know what the first thing is that I did after I became an American, on June 23, 1994? I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant on the way back home. The second thing I did was to mail my membership card for the Democratic Party.
It irritates me greatly when some people say that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are the same.
Posted by: Serge at December 5, 2007 04:21 AMI listened to part of that debate, and the remark I just loved was Mike Gravelle, exulting about the just-released NIE on Iran's lack of nuclear weapons development: "They just drop-kicked the American President!" He was right, too, they did, but the pleasure in his voice when he said it was a delight to hear.
Posted by: hedera at December 8, 2007 06:52 PM