Wow. They couldn't debate on Fox News, because they didn't want to give credence to it as a credible news organization.

But apparently on August 9th, the major Democratic candidates are going to debate on Logo, a gay cable network. They're dedicating an hour to lesbian and gay issues. Again, wow.

I don't know why I am surprised, but this is truly unbelievable to me. Have we really come this far? In order to please the Democratic base, the front runners feel this kind of pandering is necessary?

First they debated a few weeks ago at Howard University, an African-American school, in front of a primarily African-American audience. The MC for this event was Tavis Smiley, a black PBS news show host. The questions and answers pandered to a black audience. For instance, in response to a discussion on HIV/AIDS education, Hillary said, (in her best southern dialect) "You know, it is hard to disagree with anything that has been said, but let me just put this in perspective. If HIV/AIDS were the leading cause of death of white women between the ages of 25 and 34, there would be an outraged outcry in this country." This was met with loud cheers. Outraged outcry? President Bush could never be that eloquent.

That was after her blatantly butt-kissing opening statement about the thousands of African-Americans who were left behind by their government in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I am so sick of Hurrican Katrina being the poster child for Republican racism. It's proveably false. New Orleans suffered far more at the hands of its liberal Democratic state and local incompetence than anything FEMA could have ever done.

Incidentally, when Tavis Smiley was interviewed the following day, he was asked why he didn't make the audience stick to the rules and refrain from clapping and cheering. His answer was that black people are too emotional to obey a rule like that. It would have never worked. And Republicans are racist. But I digress.

So now they feel the need to debate in front of their gay and lesbian consitutents. (Is it really necessary to say gay and lesbian? Doesn't gay cover it? I'm admit I'm not down with homosexual lingo, but that's always puzzled me.)

I can't even imagine how surreal this debate will be. I wonder how the candidates are feeling about it. I'm sure none of them wanted to be the one that refused to participate, but I wonder if it's making any of them uncomfortable. Especially John Edwards, who accidentally admitted to being uncomfortable around gay people and had to be bailed by his wife again. There are still a lot of Southern Democrats who are not for gay marraige or gay activism in any issue. But I guess they are figuring none of those rednecks would vote for a woman or black man anyway, so they're probably not worth wasting time on. But I still wonder how much back-and-forth there was among the advisors before committing.

I've been trying to think of a Republican equivalent to this, and I'm struggling to do so. Would it be debating before the military? The Christian Coalition? Rich white guys of America? So far they have debated on MSNBC, Fox and CNN at the Reagan Library, University of South Carolina and Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. The MCs on MSNBC could barely hide their contempt for the candidates. The Republicans are clearly not afraid of hard questions or else they would stick to Fox (which in reality was a tough debate, but the MCs just didn't look like they wanted to kill each candidate rather than ask them a question.)

Again, it's only July 2007. We have such a long way to go. But not as long as we used to. Some state primaries have been moved up to January. That's only five months away. And we all know how fast five months can fly.

I think I'm ready for it. President Bush, bless his heart, just doesn't have any political capital left. For all his mistakes, I'm so glad he's still commander in chief, because he's clearly not going to be swayed from what he thinks is best in Iraq. I can't imagine the disaster for Iraq and American security it would be for Hillary or Obama or John to get in that office. Although the last Clinton administration does give us a pretty good idea.

God forbid.