An NBC Snapshot of Sheer Stupidity

Hey Ryan,

You know, I wasn't going to write anything tonight because, right now, all over the Web, everybody's throwing in their two cents, trying to sound as smart as they can about who "won" or "lost" the final presidential debate.

But what are they talking about really? Yep. McCain huffed here. Obama wasn't on his game there. The line of the debate came when McCain said, "If you wanted to run against George W. Bush, you should've ran four years ago." Ha, ha, he so funny. So, again, for the most part, we get networks moaning that there was no "knockout punch", and droning on about how comfortable the candidates looked in the format.

Never mind that after saying he wasn't like Bush the Junior with his witty little canned line (and accompanying third grade "look I remembered my school play line" smirk), that John McCain went on to tout a health care plan that would deregulate the insurance industry in much the same way Wall Street has been unfettered in completely destroying our economy.

Nah, don't talk about that. Let's listen to Chuck Todd run the number of McCain's lizard licks through his crystal ball to find out how it will affect tomorrow's polling.

And then...and then...we get to sit there and watch Ann Curry try and interview six "undecided" voters. One of these guys was a real piece of work. I think his name was Mike, so that's what we'll call him. Mike raised his hand to say that, of the two candidates, he thought Barack Obama had the better short- and long-term plans to fix the economy.

Then, not two minutes later, Curry asked how many of the six voters would vote for McCain and...MIKE RAISED HIS HAND!

Yeah, okay, so I've got these two prospective presidents in front of me and I believe one of them has the smarter fix for the economy...the most important issue currently facing our country and the entire world! So, naturally, I'm going to vote for the OTHER GUY!

Mike's so undecided, he can't even agree with himself! Mike never explained why he loved Obama's plan, but would vote for McCain. If I had to bet, though, I would say his decision was based on sheer stupidity.

One of the women said she was leaning toward Obama, but wished the candidates would talk about how the U.S. is viewed in the world. This plea came after Curry asked the still "undecided" voters in the group of six what it would take to sway them. Of course, Curry didn't follow up with, "Have you been watching the debates or reading the Web or the news or the candidates policies?" because, well, she's a journalist (I guess).

In introducing the whole shameful segment, Brian Williams said, "The American people have a funny way of deciding elections no matter what anybody in the news media says including the best of analysis and that's the way it should be..."

I agree, Brian, they do have a "funny way of deciding", it's called willful ignorance. They claim to want to hear the candidates' views, but then blow the total recall mere minutes after the debate is over! They piss and moan about not knowing the candidates, but never take the time sit down and study the issues.

Their willful ignorance allows them to pass off intellectual laziness as reasoned thought. It lets them feign disgust about the quality of the candidate choices instead of buckling down and doing their homework. I've seen people put more effort in picking out which movie to go see on a Friday night than which candidate they're going to vote into the Oval Office.

Democracy is a messy affair, and I'm not talking about negative campaigning. Negative campaigning is only useful if it's connected to policy.

But Democracy, that's tough, because it requires work from everyone involved. It amazes me that the knuckle-dragger who drives around with a "Freedom Ain't Free" bumper sticker believes that that little nugget of gas station wisdom is all he needs to choose the next leader of the free world.

As for me, for what it's worth, I think Barack Obama won the debate tonight. But, then again, I've done my due diligence. I've looked at the issues and know where I stand, because an election isn't just a referendum on the candidates, it's also a chance for all of us to look in the mirror...to search ourselves to find out what we value, what we really believe in. To me, that's about as useful in defending our freedom as fighting on any battlefield. But I'm sure Mike the Willful Ignorant and "Freedom Ain't Free" Guy probably wouldn't agree with me.

Maybe I'll ask Joe the Plumber.

Charles