Like many of you who suffered through the ninety minutes posing as this election’s first Presidential debate, I was perplexed by the demeanor, (or lack thereof), of my guy, while the well-coached Mr. Romney was pre-programmed to bulldoze his message, (or lack thereof), through the confusing format, (or lack thereof), moderated by the google-eyed Jim Lehrer.  The debate, (you know, one side for this, the other for that), if there in fact was one, was clearly between Wednesday Mitt and pre-Wednesday Mitt.  Obama basically took a pass.  If that was his strategy, to let his “Say Anything” opponent argue against his own stated policies, well, that would have been intellectually effective only if a significant number of the 50 million or so watching were smart enough to notice.  However, the intelligence, (or lack thereof), of American voters is historically and, most certainly, currently suspect.  Just look at our single most compelling issue, the economy.  On one hand you have Mitt with his rag-tag band of gun-toting, bible-thumping, constitutionally confused faux patriots who think that a deregulated, every-man-for-himself approach is the real American way.  On the other, you have Obama who represents perhaps the last ditch effort by the tenuously shrinking educated majority who still believe that the great American experiment of a compassionate society, insuring the safety, welfare and freedom of all its people, is what we should aspire to be.

One of my great frustrations is that the last few elections seemed to have clear and obvious choices:

Gore v Bush – smart guy:dumb shit

Kerry v Bush – good guy:dumb/dangerous/lying asshole

Obama v McCain – smart guy:doddering old fool

Obama v Romney – do the right thing:show me the money!

And yet, we went the wrong way in two of the last three and there’s still a whole lot of crazy that can happen between now and November 6.  It just sends shivers up my spine.  I think I’ll run out to the store and get me some clean coal to take the chill off.