Great moments in debate history

Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas, 1858
This was the big one, the benchmark for all future discussions of political debates. Lincoln and Douglas squared off seven times in less than two months in their campaign for the Illinois seat in the United States Senate. Lincoln lost the election, but used the accompanying publicity as a springboard to the Republican nomination for president two years later.

William Jennings Bryan vs. William Howard Taft, 1908
Losing three presidential elections hardly tarnished the legacy of William Jennings Bryan, who served in Congress, as Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State, and famously argued against Clarence Darrow in the Scopes Trial. His debates with Taft were remarkable in that they were recorded for the phonograph and can be purchased still today.


John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon, 1960
The first televised debate was scored a win by those who only heard it on radio, but Kennedy appeared far more comfortable and, let's face it, attractive in front of the camera than Nixon, whose career took eight years to recover.


Ronald Reagan vs. Walter Mondale, 1984
Every ounce of the Gipper's charm was on display in this brilliant reversal of a campaign issue that the Democrats strove so unsuccessfully to exploit. Reagan's line was so good and so expertly delivered, even Mondale had to chuckle, thinking all the while, "There's no way I can beat this guy, is there?"

Michael Dukakis vs. Bernard Shaw, 1988
Dukakis's opponent in the debate was actually George Bush, but his surpisingly unemotional reply to moderator Bernard Shaw's question of whether the candidate would support the death penalty in a hypothetical case where his wife was raped and murdered drew a flat response from viewers.


Lloyd Bentsen vs. Dan Quayle, 1988
When the Veep candidates took to the podium, Quayle gave Bentsen a belt-high fastball when he compared his own experience to that of John Kennedy, and Bentsen swatted it out of the park with perhaps the most famous putdown in debate history. You can almost see Quayle blink away the stinging tears.


Frank the Tank vs. James Carville, 2003
Okay, technically, this was not a political debate, not a real event, and not the funniest moment in this movie by a long shot, but still, how often do you see James Carville at a loss for words?

Flip-flopper!

First he's in, then he's out, and now he's in. Really. He means it this time. John McCain will be at the presidential debate tonight in Oxford, Mississippi. Which is good, because otherwise I'd have to watch the end of the Orioles' game as the hometown team goes for nine straight losses.

Cornfield of Republican Dreams

The Cookie Polls are old news, forget about Obama Girl, let's get to the heartland of the matter. That's right, it's the amazeing Sara Palin corn maze, part of a 16-acre labyrinth at the Corn Maze at the Butterfly Farm in the presciently named town of Whitehouse Ohio.

Video available at myfoxtoledo.com.

Will they or won't they?

Right now, the biggest question regarding tonight's presidential campaign debate is not about the war in Iraq or the economy, but rather the more existential query of whether it will happen at all. John McCain wants to delay until the financial crisis bailout legislation is finished, Barack Obama says there's no need to wait, and University of Mississippi officials say they are ready to go forward. Dan Balz of the Washington Post offers a nice little primer to get you ready.

We'll know for sure in a little less than 12 hours, but if it falls through, here are a few backup plans: Sweet Home Alabama with the lovely Academy Award-winning Reese Witherspoon on USA Network; What Not To Wear on the Learning Channel, where a former exotic dancer solves her "problem" of wearing shirts that are too short; Kelly's Heroes, a WWII classic starring Clint Eastwood, Don Rickles and Telly Savalas on Turner Classic Movies; or if you must have eloquent statements and dramatic posturing, WWE Smackdown, featuring Triple-H and his partner/rival Jeff Hardy in a tag-team battle with MVP and The Brian Kendrick. And of course random CSI and Law and Order episodes about every 10 channels or so depending on your cable provider.

Palin speaks!

Reporters covering Sarah Palin's tour of 9/11 memorial sites yesterday scored a major get when the Republican Vice Presidential candidate paused to answer a few questions on camera.



Palin has conducted sit-down interviews with ABC, Fox, and CBS, but this was her first press conference, if answering four questions can be called a conference. No earth-shattering revelations in the video, but no laugh lines either. She stated standard party lines on 9/11 and the Bush Doctrine and neatly danced around a reporter's question about the reelection of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, whose trial started yesterday. No pigs, pitbulls, lipstick, or Bridges to Nowhere. Let's see Tina Fey try to make this funny.

Huckabee TV show a reality

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will host a talk show on Fox News airing this Saturday at 8:00 Eastern Time. Huckabee made the announcement on his Huck PAC blog and Fox News confirmed the announcement. The show will be taped Saturday before a live audience and the first guest will be Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Other than that, precious few details about the show have emerged.

This move makes so much sense the only surprise is that it took so long to happen. Huckabee, who lost 100 pounds while governor, can do the obligatory diet and exercise segments himself. His band, Capitol Offense, can handle the musical entertainment. Throw in sports, weather and a goofy sidekick (Fred Grandy?), and you got yourself a show.

Still some unanswered questions here. Will "Huckabee" get big ratings in Iowa but tank in New Hampshire? Will Chuck Norris handle security? Will John McCain cancel an appearance on the show? Can't wait to find out.

Letterman livid over McCain bailout

Republican presidential nominee John McCain's suspension of his campaign in order to help address the nation's financial crisis included cancelling his appearance on David Letterman's Late Show last night, a decision that the notoriously cranky host received none too graciously.



Letterman made sure to acknowledge McCain's heroic service to his country before stomping him like so many bunches of Zinfandel. Dave's been known to hold a grudge (see Winfrey, Oprah), so don't be surprised if tonight's Late Show features the "Top 10 Real Reasons Why John McCain Cancelled." My version would be as follows:

10. Couldn't remember which house he left his car keys in.
9. Went lipstick shopping with Sarah Palin (favorite shade: Red State Red).
8. His wife, Cindy McCain, prefers Last Call with Carson Daly.
7. Straight Talk Express bus driver forgot his EZ Pass and got stuck in traffic.
6. Found out Paul Shaffer is Canadian and can't vote in the election.
5. Didn't want to miss "Dancing with the Stars" results show (rooting for Cloris Leachman, natch.)
4. Furious when he found out the trip would not include one last
game at Yankee Stadium.
3. Went over to Joe Biden's house to watch reruns of FDR's televised speeches.
2. Too stunned by Clay Aiken's coming out to appear in public.
1. Luke Russert told him that smart people watch Katie Couric, not David Letterman.

Barney Frank would prefer Superman?

Massachusetts' Representative Barney Frank, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, criticized Senator John McCain yesterday, comparing him to Mighty Mouse. And not even the real Mighty Mouse, but rather this brilliant perfomance art sketch by the late American comic genius, Andy Kaufman.



After his obscure yet dismissive characterization of the Republican nominee for Commander in Chief's plan to assist in the federal government's $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Frank went on to crush McCain in more unambiguous fashion, saying, "He hasn't been involved ... He doesn't know anything about it ... He doesn't bring anything to it." Straight Talk Express, indeed!

Note that Kaufman is not wearing a "Mighty Mouse costume" in the above clip. That detail appears to have been added by Rep. Frank. I'll forgive the slip, considering the stress that Frank has been under recently, but in the future, I hope he keeps his little fantasies to himself.

Politics, shmolitics

Welcome back to FitzFacts. My five week stint over at Fourth Place Medal is done, and the kids are back in school, so I should be hitting the blog pretty hard (emphasis on should). College football started last night, the Ravens are in a bigger quarterback dilemma than they expected, and the Orioles are limping into September, but the topic of the day has to be politics: Barack Obama's historic nomination and John McCain's vice presidential candidate selection.

Let's start with Obama - maybe I'll get to McCain next time. Like most of my political knowledge, I learned about Obama through the pages of the New Yorker and the programs of National Public Radio. The New Yorker profile was a precursor to the typical "Could this guy run for President?" article that I have read in that magazine about so many politicians (John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, etc.), but his appearance on the NPR show, "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me," in August, 2005, really caught my ear (Okay, I'm pretty sure I didn't hear the original broadcast, but as Obama's political star rose, they replayed the segment several times).

Obama was nominally on the show to play a quiz game, but most of his time was taken by a discussion of his attack on the overemphasis of 8th grade graduations. He felt that many schools and families were overreacting with limousines and parties for an achievement that warranted not much more than a handshake and a ride to the first day of high school. By the end of the segment, he had won over the hosts (and me, too). After all nothing warms my heart like an attack on innocent children, although now might be a good time to confess that my own 8th grade graduation featured a dinner and a dance with a live rock band. To be fair, the band was led by our concert band teacher, and they brought the house down with Kool and the Gang's "Celebration."

So, I have been a fan of the guy ever since. I watched some of the speech last night, not so much for particulars but just to absorb the moment a little. Even though I am going to vote for him, I still can't quite believe he might actually win. People can talk about inexperience, age, the Iraq War, hope, and how many houses all they want, but I still believe race will have a greater impact on this presidential campaign than all those factors combined.

I know we'd all like to think we've moved beyond that and I hope we have, but I am not entirely convinced. I remember being in high school and watching one of the candidates for student government president check the list of students marked absent, counting white kids as votes he'd lost and black kids as votes he'd gained. A few years later, when I was working at GW, the student body president was forced to resign because he referred to his black opponent with the N-word in a private conversation. That was more than 15 years ago, but I'm not sure we've changed enough.

I doubt I'll ever watch his entire speech. I prefer to go looking for this one: