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We Can Never Talk About Issues Again

Senator Obama seemed to complain yesterday that issues Americans care about were lost in the debate on 4/16. Because the moderators spent 45 minutes asking questions about character and honesty, he noted, that took time from a real discussion of the issues.

And now he's implying that this was their last opportunity, ever, to discuss those issues, because there probably won't be any more debates:

You know, we had agreed earlier to a debate. Sen. Clinton declined that one. And now we are trying to figure out what our schedule looks like. I'll be honest with you, we have now had 21. And look, I mean, on the previous three you know, we did very well, and so it's not as if we don't know how to do these things.

I could deliver Sen. Clinton's lines; she could, I'm sure, deliver mine. So what we've got to figure out is how we fit in campaigning actively both here in North Carolina and in Indiana. Because if we do it in North Carolina then the folks in Indiana will say, 'What about us?

Wait a second. If we've had 21 debates so far, and they're getting so old you can each deliver the other one's lines, I'm curious what issues got neglected Wednesday night that should have come up.

That is, what was the opportunity cost of asking character questions? More debates about universal health care? Iraq? The economy?

I'd rather get some fresh content into these debates than have them rehash the same issues repeatedly.

But if you're Obama, and you prefer to rehash the issues over and over again, why express disdain for more debates by mentioning the number of prior debates, and saying that you and Hillary know each other's lines by now.

Full post as published by Expressio Unius on April 18, 2008 (boomark / email).