Debated Out

The night of the first presidential debate, Lee and I sat on the couch with anticipation, tuned in early, and watched every bit of the 90 minutes. It was exciting and interesting and important.

We watched the vice presidential debate with the same rapt attention for a while. I finally grew weary of the back-and-forth, and took a break. But Lee filled me in on the juicier details.

The night of the second presidential debate, we were in the car on a 5 hour trip. It was very different, listening to the debate on the radio. I think on the one hand, you miss out on seeing their body language and reactions. On the other hand, you're able to concentrate more on what is actually said without the distractions. I listened intently for a little while, then my mind wandered and I fell asleep (thank goodness Lee was driving).

Tonight, I had the TV on when the debates began, but I changed the channel before the first question was answered. I feel a little guilty, because I still think the debates are important, but it's beginning to seem so repetitive. I've heard the lines before.

Even before the first debate, I knew who would get my vote. That hasn't changed - my position on it has only grown more solid. So maybe I'm not a bad voter for not listening tonight. It would take an earth-shattering, shocking revelation to get me to change my vote now - and if that happened, I'm sure I'd hear about it in the course of regular news. So I don't feel too guilty. I'll just watch the Daily Show tomorrow so I can get the real highlights.