John Derbyshire On The First Debate

The National Question.  Not mentioned.  Not a word.  Immigration?  Citizenship?  Refugees?  Borders? Quotas?  Not a peep.  Presumably at least some of this will come up in later debates.  If not, the debates are an utter swindle.

With Peter Brimelow and James Fulford on the road for an immigration event, it has fallen to me to write up last night’s Obama-Romney debate.

As an ordinary sane citizen, not much interested in politics, I brought considerable anxiety to the task.  I knew the debate would be wonkish and conducted within very narrow boundaries.  I’m not a wonk, and have a low threshold of boredom.

I vaguely thought I should do some debate preparation myself ─ try to raise my political libido some; but all I actually did was browse the election issue of Mad magazine while waiting for a train at Penn Station.
What follow are therefore the reactions of a not-very-engaged citizen trying sluggishly to do his duty as a patriot and a voter by listening with attention to this first presidential debate.

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2012-10-04