YouTube Debates

I was able to watch much of the Democratic YouTube debates on Monday night. I enjoyed the format (though I think the "freedom" and "user generated content" aspect of it was tainted by the fact that CNN sifted through and chose all the questions) and surprisingly enjoyed hearing the democrat's answers. Most of the second or third tier candidates were very unimpressive, save Joe Biden. Their obvious attempts to make bold statements in order to separate themselves from the others came across as, well, obvious. Dennis K. especially with his repeated attempt to promote his text-messaging campaign prop. However, the top three, Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, were fairly solid. Clinton especially came across as intelligent, capable, and powerful, no doubt overcoming some of the doubts American's might have about having a woman president. In fact, her performance, complete with references to "brigades" which I thought was a great demonstration of military competence, was so good that even I can begin to see her leading our nation. Its a terrifying sight. I get the feeling that she can be such a good leader that she will actually be able to accomplish some of her agendas, moving the country in a clearly leftward direction. Forget about Iraq for a second. I'm talking about universal heath care, bigger government, and further moral decline. Clinton is focused, smart, and a great politician (not necessarily a compliment in my opinion) and her performance last night led me to believe that she could take the nation by its partisian horns and direct it into her own coral. Not a place I'm interested in being.

Our nation praises good leadership. We forget that the term is morally neutral. George Washington was a great leader, but so was Adolf Hitler. We need a strong president, but we need one who will lead us in the right direction, not the left.