It is deeply ironic that I skipped the last debate because I was so tired of hearing Hillary and Barack, who have almost identical positions on every issue, debating the same old issues and yet, the debate I skipped turned out to be controversial because ABC asked about Barack's unpatriotic refusal to wear a flag pin, his terrorist pals, and Hillary's lies about her trip to Bosnia.

The left side of the blogosphere has been up in arms over the debate, supposedly because it didn't spend enough time focusing on issues. However, the ladies doth protest too much. I'd say it's much more likely that they're upset that,

#1) Democrats were asked any hard questions at all
#2) The general consensus seems to be that Barack stunk the place up.

Moreover, I really hate to defend ABC here, but asking Obama about the flag pin controversy, his racist spiritual mentor, and his association with unrepentant terrorists among other things makes perfect sense.

Why?

1) Because it's what everybody is talking and writing about, including the very same liberal bloggers who have been complaining about the debate questions. The whole idea that a debate shouldn't cover the things people want to know and are basing their votes on, just because it's not an "issue" is silly and very "old media."

2) It's even more laughable to complain that Changey McHopeAndUnity, who has based his entire campaign on vacuous phrases like "Yes, we can" and "We are the change we've been waiting for" isn't getting enough time to talk about issues. Obama's whole campaign has been centered around studiously avoiding the issues and keeping people's attention focused elsewhere.

3) If the Democrats were smart, they'd welcome these sort of questions during the primary just as smart Republicans welcomed questions about McCain's age, Mitt's Mormon beliefs, and Huckabee's religious views. The last thing anyone who wants to win in November should want is for things that everybody is talking about to be swept under the rug and left undiscussed before a nominee is selected. It is better to get it all out there and let people make an informed choice.

4) If Obama does turn out to be the Democratic nominee, ABC did him a huge favor by letting him know that he will have to deal with these questions. He is going to hear every question that was asked to him in that debate time and time again before November and quite frankly, if he wants to be President, he is going to have to come up with some better answers to explain his lack of patriotism, why he thinks terrorists are great people to pal around with, and why he puts so much stock in the advice of someone who hates white people and America.