Round Three Debate Settles Nothing

BOCA RATON, FL - OCTOBER 22: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) greets Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (L) as moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS looks on prior to their debate at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University on October 22, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The final presidential debate before election day on November 6th focuses on foreign policy. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

With two weeks to go before voters make their choice as to whether President Barack Obama deserves another term, or if Mitt Romney can run things for the next four years, one thing is certain.  Absolutely nothing.

Depending on which poll you believe, both Obama and Romney are dead even nationally, and in the swing states with the most electoral votes.  The third and final debate Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida did nothing to help voters, with all the sidestepping going on about the issues.

The debate, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, was mostly about American foreign policy.  But both candidates snuck in domestic issues such as education and the economy.  Here the President did what was expected, highlighting his experience and accomplishments in international affairs while Romney could only heckle from the sidelines.  Which is why he kept coming back to the economy, because he knows that's how this election is going to turn.

Both men agreed that (A) Iran should dismantle its nuclear program, (B) support for Israel is unwavering, (C) Hafez Assad should step down in Syria and let them form a new government, and (D) American soldiers should be out of Afghanistan by 2014.

If anything, Romney has toned down his belligerent attitude towards the Middle East and China, but that doesn't mean he isn't the least bit hawkish.  He proposed spending trillions of dollars more on defense spending, while the President's been advocating cutting back.  That led to Romney claiming the military is at its weakest point since before World War I, with Obama replying that horses and bayonets are not as numerous as they used to be.  Has the President been watching "Revolution"?

Schieffer was the best of the four moderators used during these debates, "Obama bin Laden" notwithstanding.  He asked the right questions and kept things moving without too much intrusion from either of the candidates.  Compared to the previous two, this was less a debate than a commercial-free, extended edition of Schieffer's Sunday morning broadcast, "Face the Nation".

So this is what we have, folks.  President Obama is still the odds-on favorite to win re-election, but he acts as if he's running from behind.  Mitt Romney sounds like a man who will say and do anything to get elected, and it looks like he's succeeding.  Not an appealing choice as November 6 approaches, but there it is.

Round Two: Obama In a TKO

HEMPSTEAD, NY - OCTOBER 16: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R) and moderator Candy Crowley (C) listen during a town hall style debate at Hofstra University October 16, 2012 in Hempstead, New York. During the second of three presidential debates, the candidates fielded questions from audience members on a wide variety of issues. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Round Two of a scheduled debate series between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Tuesday night saw the champ come off the ropes after a lackluster Round One, in which he allowed the challenger to claim the lead.

Obama and Romney sparred over the economy, energy policy, immigration and the terrorist attack in Libya, among other things.  Romney made his points by ripping Obama's first-term record.  The President accused the Governor of playing politics with the death of a U.S. ambassador in Benghazi, while Romney asked why it took two weeks to declare the whole thing a terrorist attack.  On energy policy, the President was touting new alternative sources along with the increase in oil exploration.  Romney was all about "drill baby drill".  But both candidates seemed to agree on most things than to disagree on them.

Recent polls have shown that Romney has been making gains with women in the swing states since the first debate.  But he may have jeopardized that when he mentioned that, as Governor, he was having trouble finding enough qualified women for certain positions.  So, he says, he kept a portfolio of women to use just in case.

The event was held at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York, with a group of handpicked 'undecided' voters asking handpicked questions of the candidates, with moderator Candy Crowley of CNN contributing some of her own.  At least nobody asked whether they liked sausage or pepperoni on their pizza.

The Town Hall format allowed the President and former Governor Romney to interact with one another as they moved across the stage, but sometimes it seemed as if they were about to exchange physical as well as verbal blows.  Crowley did a fine job playing traffic cop, but there were times when she looked like a befuddled pro wrestling referee, having her back turned while one wrestler smashes his opponent with a folding chair.

Obama may have won this round, but he won't get much of a bounce from it.  Round Three is Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida, and it's supposed to deal with international issues.  Maybe the President can sneak in a line about Romney's being the unwitting star of a secretly-made tape that originated there.

"Let Biden Be Biden" Works for Vice President Biden

DANVILLE, KY - OCTOBER 11: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) shakes hands with Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (R) during the vice presidential debate at Centre College October 11, 2012 in Danville, Kentucky. This is the second of four debates during the presidential election season and the only debate between the vice presidential candidates before the closely-contested election November 6. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

The vice-presidential debate (or joint appearance, if you prefer) Thursday night in Danville, Kentucky was like watching Goofus and Gallant.  There was Vice President Joe Biden, grinning and interrupting as he showed the world how much more polished and in command of the facts he had than his Republican opponent, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan.  And he was.  Ryan, the comparative chiorboy, seemed to have only one expression besides quaffing a lot of water and defending his running mate, Mitt Romney.  At least they weren't discussing Big Bird.

In spite of acting like a little boy goofing off in class, Biden covered all the bases that President Barack Obama did not during his first debate (the 47%, keeping GM in business, etc.), thereby calming the Democrats' panic now that the presidential race is dead-even.  Biden seemed to take great pride in knocking down Ryan's arguments as Republican "malarkey".

Ryan did his best to present a calm, collected demeanor as he answered questions from moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC (for whom any comparison to Jim Lehrer at this point is just piling on).  Try as he might, Ryan just couldn't compete with Biden's antics.  But when it came to a question on what a Romney administration would propose on taxes, he couldn't do it without more Obama-bashing.

There are two more presidential debates to go, with the next one on Tuesday night.  We can expect both Romney and Obama to carry on in a professional manner and debate the issues.  But it won't be as entertaining as what we just witnessed Thursday.

Voter ID: License to Discriminate

Señalización de lugar de votación en California. 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Minnesotans will be going to the polls November 6 to vote on an amendment to the state's constitution that would require folks to show a legal form of ID the next time they vote.  If it passes, then you just might have voted yourself and others out of that right.

Nearly every adult in this state has a drivers' license with a photo ID on it.  If you have one, you're good to go.  Unless your ID is stolen (identity theft is a big deal these days) or suspended depending on your criminal record.  Then you'll have a heck of a time getting it back.

Or you could be one of those who, for whatever reason, don't have a valid ID.  Perhaps you're a recent immigrant, a student who attends college, a senior who had to quit driving for medical reasons, someone who uses a bike or public transportation, or someone whose circumstances of birth are complicated.

The reason this is even up for a vote in the first place has to do with the Republican-dominated Legislature, which put just as much of their energy into this as they did with the marriage amendment.  Instead of coming up with their own solution, they found a way to bring these volatile issues to the public that didn't require them to vote on it, thus avoiding a veto by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.

The last two major state elections--Dayton versus Tom Emmer for Governor, and Al Franken versus Norm Coleman for the U.S. Senate--were so close that they required recounts.  Recounts that didn't go Emmer's and Coleman's way.  Later, a pro-amendment organization called Minnesota Majority alleged that voter fraud may have had something to do with the results.  Its executive director Dan McGrath told MPR News that over a thousand votes in the Franken-Coleman election came from convicted felons.  But McGrath also said he couldn't prove it affected the outcome one way or another.

So, in the name of eliminating voter fraud that's in itself a dubious proposition, the Republicans want to fix the election laws so that their candidates can control everything from the state house to the White House.  If the amendment passes, the electoral clock in Minnesota will be pushed back 100 years.  Back then, only men could vote.  African-Americans could also vote, but some states had ways to dissuade them from doing so.

The problem isn't forcing people to get ID's with a bad picture of themselves so they could vote.  The problem is a political party with too much time on its hands dreaming of more power for themselves.  A change in the state constitution could make that legal if voters don't educate themselves about voter ID.

No Clear Winner, But Romney Gets "E" for Effort

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 03: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shake hands at the end of the Presidential Debate at the University of Denver as moderator Jim Lehrer looks on on October 3, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The first of four debates for the 2012 Election, three Presidential and one Vice Presidential, is moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer and focuses on domestic issues: the economy, health care, and the role of government. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

In the first of three presidential debates in Denver Wednesday, Mitt Romney improved his standing with a good performance against President Barack Obama,  Neither man slipped, really,  It might have made for good debating, but not for great TV.

Romney has had plenty of experience in the last few months debating other Republican candidates, and it showed.  The President seemed a little rusty, an indication that being an incumbent does have its disadvantages.  Though he did win points for talking directly to the camera on occasion.

In the ninety minutes (or so) that were allotted, moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS tried to keep things on track and on schedule.  But both men kept talking and talking on the same topics for so long that Lehrer seemed to lose control for a time.

Both Romney and the President revisited familiar arguments when it came to their policies on taxes and health care, for which sharp divisions were noted.  Romney reverted to form when he could not come up with how he would replace tax reform and "Obamacare", or telling Lehrer to his face about how he would cut funding for PBS (beyond Big Bird, of course).  Obama was also short on details in some areas, but even he was starting to call his health care plan "Obamacare".

Romney needed to do well in this debate because he's trailing Obama in some of the national polls by slim margins, even in the "battleground" states.  He delivered, sort of, on what could be his last, best chance to overtake the President before the voters decide November 6.  But he still has a lot of work to do.

The Politics of Pairing Up

Same-Sex Marriage Rally (Photo credit: City of West Hollywood)

On the ballot in Minnesota (and a few other states) is an amendment taking what used to be an accepted fact of life in Western culture--the institution of marriage is between a man and a woman--and turning it into part of the state constitution.  No gays and lesbians need apply.

This has come about for two reasons:  (1) The Republican-dominated state legislature spent most of the last session--when they weren't debating football stadiums and voter ID--on this issue before deciding not to risk voting on it themselves, fearing a veto by Democratic Governor Mark Dayton.  So they're leaving it to the voters.  What could possibly go wrong?  (2) The GOP's desire to block a lawsuit challenging the statute that already makes gay marriage illegal in Minnesota, thus taking the matter out of the judicial system.

As it stands, the newspaper polls show folks split over the issue.  The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Minnesota Poll says that 48% favor the marriage amendment, while 43% oppose it.

This is where the television ads come into play, with both the "pros" and "antis" spending tons of money on their message.  Unless you happen to be Catholic, in which case they're asking you to contribute so they can put out their own ads supporting the amendment.

The ads for the "anti" side, sponsored by Minnesotans United for All Families, feature either an elderly couple who come around to gay marriage only after one of their offspring is in a committed relationship, or a straight, young Republican couple talking about how nice their lesbian neighbors are.

You'll notice that there are no actual gay people in these ads.  Why hurt your cause?  That's like discussing what's best for your children, as long as they're out of the room.

The ads from Minnesotans for Marriage have also been on the benign side. Currently, their message seems to be that the amendment should be a choice issue for voters, instead of having gay marriage rammed down their throats by liberal politicians and judges.  Isn't that why we elect representatives to do that for us?

The man behind Minnesotans for Marriage's ads, Frank Schubert, was recently profiled in the Star Tribune as a man who has never worked on a campaign he has lost yet.  He may be right.  So far, anti-same sex marriage amendments have won in every state where it's been on the ballot.

Like we said, the ads from both sides tend to focus on the soft sell.  But wait until the gloves come off.  Then it'll be all about Protecting The Children from all the horrors gays and lesbians might bring.  Thing is, kids have already been exposed to positive images of them through TV, the movies, and the person they sit next to at school.

No matter how you vote on the marriage amendment November 6, same sex unions will remain illegal in Minnesota.  And as long as the state legislature is in GOP hands, it will likely stay that way.

So what's the point?  The definition of marriage has been changing over time, whether we like it or not.  If this were about gay and straight couples getting the same kind of benefits that married couples do without actually tying the knot, this wouldn't be an issue.  But same sex couples, in their attempt to be just like everybody else, want access to the altar.  The question before Minnesota voters is whether, symbolically speaking, people with a different sexual orientation can put a ring on it.