Sans Kucinich...

... the debate went on. "It's down to three!" NBC's moderator, Brian Williams, announced portentously to kick things off. No, it's not. He conveniently passed over the fact that NBC had been fighting all day to keep Congressman Dennis Kucinich off the table. Kucinich, to my knowledge, is still running for President. He just doesn't happen to be in this corporate network's fantasy horse race, staged to boost their ratings and make them money.

A mention, at the very least, of his desire to be there would have been a courtesy. Not a word. Not a word about his absence from any of the other candidates in the course of the debate. And we call this a democracy! No, I repeat what I have insisted in the past, it's an oligarchy we live in, run by the wealthy and the powerful, who will fight in the courts to impose their choices on "the people" and to silence--successfully, once again, in this case--those who oppose them.

So far as the other candidates were concerned, the debate went well. I'm persuaded that all three are articulate, knowledgeable, caring, capable people. I have been not a little dismayed, this past week, by the spat between Obama and Clinton, and by the hay the media have been making of this opportunity for drama and dissent. Still, compared with what we have now in the Oval Office--and with the choices on the other side--all three are shining examples of sanity and concern. They share much in their vision for the betterment of this country and the world. I would confidently vote for any one of them. But my first choice is still John Edwards. Well, Kucinich, and then John Edwards.

(Don't forget, if you're interested, to check in on my progress on A Diet of Choice.)