And they're off...

Watching the Democratic debate was thrilling in that it gave me a feeling I hadn’t experienced during a political speech in years: it was this feeling of, well… it was the absence of shame. After eight years of listening to Bush, hearing a politician speak without stumbling seems like the presence of a master rhetorician at work. I’m now dazzled by three-syllable words coming from a podium. A complex sentence? Be still my heart.

While I’m still not aligned with any one candidate, I’ve become quite fond of Edwards. I’ve made a chart showing each of the candidates and their stances on issues, and the Edwards column is by far the most specific and impressive. My initial opinion of him was an underestimate: his specific plans for universal healthcare, environmental regulations, the Iraq War and so on have distinguished him as not only a serious contender, but also have earned him his liberal stripes.

And Hillary recovered some serious ground for me last night. Her recent pandering (flag burning? really?) has been painful, but last night she impressed me (her answers on Iraq and healthcare, especially). The e-mail she sent in response to last week’s Supreme Court ruling was a good one. Saying she’d put Bill to work as an international ambassador? I’m swooning! She’s back, baby; she’s back.

Obama. Ahhh, Obama. I want to like him more than I do. He’s a wonderful speaker. His ideas are so pretty. He makes you feel that the country would hug if only he was elected. I haven’t heard him say anything, though, that distinguishes his views from the standard moderate-left. His column on my chart is lacking – general ideas, no specifics. I’m not counting him out, but I need more.

I especially enjoyed the presence of Kucinich and Gravel, who, due to their snowball-in-hell chance, have the freedom to speak unpopular ideas (a la Sharpton; I really dug him in 2004). A Democratic debate without a staunch anti-war presence would be lacking. Sure, the American people won’t go for it because our society is built around war (our holidays, our monuments, our history books…), but it was fantastic to hear views from the real left. Gravel was like that drunk guy at a party who makes everyone roll their eyes, yet shift their weight uncomfortably due to some hard truths in his rants. To hear him say that the deaths of soldiers in Vietnam and Iraq were in vain was shocking to hear from an elected official (who usually dodge the issue with the standard, “I support our troops and the sacrifice that they and their families are making…”). I also enjoyed the dramatics of Kucinich holding up a pocket copy of the Constitution while explaining his decision to go it alone to try to impeach Cheney. Even if these guys will never present a State of the Union , they’ll force the top-tier candidates to answer some uncomfortable questions and remind Americans that there are options beside the flag-in-one-hand, gun-in-the-other approach.

Here's the soapbox portion of my blog: I don’t know how to end this without being melodramatic, so I’ll just say that if one of the people on that stage last night does not get elected as president, our country is done for (how’s that for melodrama?). Find your favorite candidates, sign up for their e-mails, learn their views. If a candidate doesn’t strike your fancy yet, find your issues and the groups that will support them best. Throw a few bucks their way. And for the love of all things good and holy, register to vote. I'm sick of hearing people rant about politics, but then not actively learn the issues or contribute to campaigns or interest groups. Make this a priority. We can’t screw this up again.