Sine Qua Non

Pre-Debate Live Blogging

At some point this evening, probably right after the obligatory, "Thank you for having me," the debate will deteriorate into a variant of:

Rabbit Season!

(Et cetera, ad infinitum.)

Why anyone is going to suddenly start believing either candidate tonight if they didn't already boggles the mind if you think on it too much. So you are on your own if you choose to watch. The only real reasons to watch tonight are to see if Bush will ask Bob Scheiffer whether Dan Rather put out a memo like Mark Halperin did for Charlie Gibson's network last week demanding that they keep it (un)fair; if Bob Scheiffer will ask Kerry if he favors using the government to limit free speech that doesn't favor him; if Bush will ask Kerry when he converted from Roman Catholicism to a laying-of-the-hands Christian fundamentalism; if Bush will ask Kerry to call off the burglaries and destruction of his campaign offices; or if Bob Scheiffer will ask Kerry whether he finds any of these questions a "nuisance." But, of course, none of this will happen.

In another highly irrelevant contest, I predict Big Media will declare Kerry the winner, as usual, on style over subtance. If this election were to be contested on subtance Kerry wouldn't even get 30% of the vote.