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And We All Fell Asleep... However I did hear Al Gore say he's in favor of gun control and if he thinks getting a license will clear up illegal procurement of guns, then I need to tell him that we can easily clear up the dope problem by having all medication users get a prescription permit to buy and take drugs (even Excedrin, which I needed after the lengthiest 90 minutes on television). I also heard Al Gore say he's in favor of smaller government and that he doesn't believe in universal healthcare (socialized medicine) but he thinks the government should guarantee that every child in America is provided with some form of health care. He just reinvented double-speak there. It was disappointing not to hear Gee Dubya be able to give a direct answer as to the prior problems in the State of Texas regarding health care. It would have been more impressive if he had said "yes, that was the case and now we've done something about it, namely..." and enumerated the remedies. Avoidance is always distressing. Somehow nobody ever mentions straightening up the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA or "Hic-fah") that controls payments to the HMO's under existing Medicare. This would solve a lot of problems through a program that's already in place, even though it isn't the best. Please don't put "community health centers" on top of this! If government can't do it right the first time or fix what's gone wrong, should any of us have any confidence that it can be done right on a new start with another program? George W. always comes off well when he's talking military, or localization of education. Education is not a federal project. It is a local, community issue and should be handled by the states. Dubya's strongest stand of the evening was his confirmation that marriage is between one man and one woman. He didn't seem to care how it went over with the gay rights activists, he said it and he meant it. It even pushed Gore into a type of "agreement mode." Then came the environment. Does anyone understand "global warming?" I side with Gee Dubya: no! Twenty years ago scientists were screaming about a new ice age. But for a "presidential debate" this episode boiled down to little more than a "we agree" scenario with the hostility lurking in the sidewise glances of Al Gore and the frowns of Gee Dubya. No, they don't agree on how to tackle basic issues even if they find some agreement on the issues themselves. This was doubtless one of the hardest times I've had trying to keep down the ice cream I was eating. I kept waiting for the swimsuit contest. Then Al Gore quoted the Bible and I almost lost it. But his cosmetician came from a better establishment than the mortuary this week, that I do concede. The only thing cosmeticians can't do is veil the eyes, those sidewise looks of hate and treachery. Actually, the whole debate could have been reduced to the final four minutes of "vote for me because" ... the concluding arguments ... and doubtless everyone would have been happier. (When rocky road ice cream loses its savor while I'm watching a debate, it's gotta be a bad scene.) OK we've had the warriors at the podiums and the nice guys at the table. Will the real candidates please ... please ... stand up and act like
presidential material? Comment on the latest column by Dorothy Anne Seese
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