I didn't watch the GOP debate, again.
It's not that I don't find them important. They are important, if for no other reason than you get to see what the candidates are saying to one another, and America, in real time.
Still, I didn't watch the GOP debate because I've figured out that my interest is driven more by the entertainment value and the inevitable "OMG" moment. I would be watching because I want to see a train wreck ... I would be watching to see what insanely stupid comment is uttered rather than to learn about policy priorities (simply saying "cut taxes" and "let's make America stronger through war" is buffoonery, and not informed policy).
I shouldn't be tuning into our presidential debates simply because I want to be amused by people who will eventually say ignorant and off the wall things. If I wanted this kind of amusement I could watch the Kardashians or Honey Boo Boo (is that still on?).
Still, at the end of the day, my real issue is what all of the GOP candidates ignore. Specifically, they ignore where we were 7 years ago. Let's take a look.
* The stock market had crashed, and was heading towards Great Depression territory.
* Wall Street was begging for protection, and were black mailing the nation for trillions in bailouts (which they eventually got).
* The real estate market had crashed, and millions of people ended up losing their homes.
* The banking system was in disarray, and on the verge of collapse.
* The Federal Reserve and all the market experts were naively "shocked" by market events (as if reckless deregulation, lax oversight, and cheap money weren't a clue).
* Unemployment was above 7% and heading north.
* Our multi-trillion dollar war debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan were going strong.
* President Bush, who had inherited budget surpluses, was leaving President Obama built-in $1.4 trillion budget deficits.
Here's the point I'm trying to make. According to virtually every economic indicator, things are better today than they were when President Bush left office.
Yet all of the Republican presidential candidates talk as if President Obama did absolutely nothing to clean up his predecessors mess. Watching adults embrace and indulge this kind of delusion is not healthy.
So, no, I did not watch the GOP debate tonight. Watching for amusement purposes, while indulging delusional thinking, just doesn't seem right. Nor is it the best use of my time.
The fact that millions of Americans don't understand any of this says much about the state of our nation.
- Mark
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