YouTube / CNN Debate Watching

So I finally got around to watching my TiVo of the YouTube CNN Presidential Democrat Debate last night as I cleaned my apartment. It was the perfect accompaniment to some much needed tidying up. It wasn't the sort of thing that you really had to watch, or even really pay attention to... Plus, I figured it was my attempt to multi-task like a member of YouTube Nation might do. It worked out well.

I thought the debate was pretty entertaining, overall. The biggest disappoint for me was Barack Obama. If he said, "when I become president" or "that's why you should vote for me for president" or "when I'm president" one more time, I was going to scream. If there were more people in my apartment, I would have suggested a drinking game based on him saying the word president. You kind of needed a drink to listen to him, because it was so annoying. OK, I get it, you want me to envision you as president, shut up!

The biggest surprise of the night for me was Chris Dodd. I found myself saying out loud, "You bring it, Chris!" and "Go, Chris!" and "Sing it, Brother!" I'm from CT, so we're sort of related that way, and I live in the Haight, so maybe I was channeling some OD'ed hippie. (OK, I don't think I actually said that last one.) Anyway, you get the picture. I was totally digging Chris. I think I just liked his grasp of the issues. I guess I like the wonks. Even though I didn't agree completely with some of what he said, I was impressed. (And yes, I know it's weird that I talk to my TV, but it's something that happens to me during baseball games, George Bush's speeches, and apparently also presidential debates, so deal.)

I was also pleasantly surprised by Hillary. She was GOOD. Really good. I actually liked her. Of course, in most cases, she was preaching to the choir because she had this whole "I am woman. Hear me roar." thing going on with some of the silly questions people were throwing at her. My favorite Hillary line was in response to the lunkhead jarhead from Okinawa, who asked whether Hillary could expect to be taken seriously as president by the leaders of Muslim countries, because they treat women like second-class citizens. I really wanted her to tell him off. Instead, she thanked him for his service to our country, and went on to give a really thoughtful answer, pointing out that lots of other countries have female leaders. She ended her comments by saying wryly that she actually thought "it would be quite appropriate to have a woman president deal with the Arab and Muslim countries on behalf of the United States of America." Go Hillary! Here's the exchange:



I also found myself liking Edwards again. He just seems so darn sincere. So who knows who I'll vote for in the primary. Luckily, I still have more than 6 months to make up my mind.