Debate/Debacle

How to Debate George Bush

It's finally here: The first time we'll see George W. Bush and John F. Kerry on the same stage and, for some people, the first time they'll really hear either of them talk at length about their plans for America. To say that what happens tonight, in what is historically the most-watched debate of the election season, could determine who wins the election is to overstate nothing.

Al Gore's piece in yesterday's New York Times offered a good frame for watching the debate. To wit:

The biggest single difference between the debates this year and four years ago is that President Bush cannot simply make promises. He has a record. And I hope that voters will recall the last time Mr. Bush stood on stage for a presidential debate. If elected, he said, he would support allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs from Canada. He promised that his tax cuts would create millions of new jobs. He vowed to end partisan bickering in Washington. Above all, he pledged that if he put American troops into combat: "The force must be strong enough so that the mission can be accomplished. And the exit strategy needs to be well defined."

Comparing these grandiose promises to his failed record, it's enough to make anyone want to, well, sigh.

Besides the nice dose of self-deprecating humor in that last line, Gore offers a good point. It would be a dereliction of duty for tonight's moderator, Jim Lehrer, not to ask Bush about the differences between what he said he'd do in 2000 and what he's done since. I know Bush will answer "9/11," but Lehrer should ask why that changed the need for a force "strong enough so that the mission can be accomplished," and why 9/11 changes the need for a well-defined exit strategy. This is the one time when someone other than Bush can control the agenda, and I hope Lehrer won't let us down.

Anyhow, take a peek at Gore's entire piece. It's well worth the time. And if it causes you to wish Gore were out there tonight debating some Republican not named Bush, well, know that you're not alone.