Not much happened at yesterday’s Democratic debate. The Des Moines Register’s beloved Nurse Ratched (a.k.a. Carolyn Washburn) made a return engagement. fresh off her harshly reviewed effort with the Republican contenders on Wednesday. Ratched seemed stung by the criticism hurled at her because of her performance from the previous day, and intent on appearing more affable this go ’round. At one point, she and Hillary engaged in an impromptu cackling contest that sounded a bit like a feminist version of “Dueling Banjos.”
In no particular order, here are some of the other things you missed because you have to work for a living and can’t watch presidential debates held in the middle of the day:
There was one particularly noteworthy exchange. At one point, the candidates vied with one another to see who was most enthusiastic about raising taxes. Such is the peril of a political class swaddling itself among its lunatic fringe for extended periods of time. Sure, confiscatory tax rates may knock ’em dead on the Daily Kos, but in the mainstream, most people dislike taxes. Tax increases, even if they are sold as somehow being anti-Bush, aren’t a likely electoral blockbuster. The fact that the candidates vow to limit the hikes to only the obscenely wealthy among us making more than $42,000.00 a year doesn’t make them much more attractive. Leading Democrats have developed a political tin ear because of the deafening squawking of their party’s base. At an earlier tussle, Barack Obama promised to get driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. This is a proposal that 90% of the country opposes. But running in the modern Democratic party, he did no damage to his prospects for winning the nomination. The Democratic nominee, whomever he or she turns out to be, is in for a rude awakening when he steps out from the Democrats’ alternate universe and enters a realm where unpopular (and poorly thought through) positions have very real consequences.
