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V.P. debate was interesting, apathetic students missed out |
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Jackson White |
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So, you’ve been hearing it for a while: be responsible, vote.
The thing is, I understand why some people, an apathetic majority of
my peers here at Mt. Hood Community College, choose not to participate
in voting or opting, due to some lame excuse seemingly picked out of
your “hat of inanity,” not to watch Tuesday’s vice presidential
candidate debate: It was rife with old guys, long words and lies, distortion
on both fronts, conflicts and obdurate talky-talkies. In the end, regardless of your subtle guilt for not following your
basic civil duties, for not participating in one of the most important
pre-election televised political events, you missed out. And for those
Democrats, Republicans and Independents that profess openly their predilection,
but morph into a ball of languidness when the blinds are shut and their
door is closed to the eyes of the oppressively responsible world around
them, once again, it was your loss. You missed the telegenic qualities of Sen. John Edwards. You missed
the characteristic evil spewing forth from Cheney’s ears like steam
from Mount St. Helens as the pentagram under his derriere protected
him from accountability and common-sense that all politicians should
be held to, but aren’t. You missed Edwards, and some say Grandpa Cheney, flirting with Gwen
Ifill, the debate’s host. You lost your chance to see her not really
seem to give a damn that both of the candidates were trying to get their
“Hey, Gweny” pimp on in front on millions of viewers. But it wasn’t just the funny or offensive content you missed:
You missed knowledge. If you did watch the debate, chances are that you were able to pick
up on some of the more subtle discrepancies the candidate’s arguments
were comprised of; the half-truths and perversions of fact represented
as truth. Cheney tried to say he had never met Edwards before that night, but,
according to the Kerry Campaign’s aides, they’d met on more
than one occasion, and released photos to prove it – one photo
showed Edwards and Cheney standing next to each other at a meeting back
in 2001. In a smooth move, one that Cheney picked up on in his rebuttal, Edwards
contended that the war in Iraq had cost the United States $200 billion.
Cheney reminded Gwen and Edwards that the war on terror, including Afghanistan,
Iraq and the full global effort, not just operation expenses accrued
in Iraq, totaled $200 billion. Iraq’s allocation was only $120 billion. Interestingly, the topic
of gay marriage, which was bound to pop-up sooner or later, shed a sense
of understanding between Edwards and Cheney, however brief. But hey, it’s only our faux pas.
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