Debates have become 'must-see TV'

A Republican candidate for President has to be off-the-edge extreme to lose South Dakota's electoral votes, but it happened to Sen. Barry Goldwater back in 1964.

Yes, 44 years ago South Dakota actually supported a Democratic presidential candidate when the Lyndon Johnson/Hubert Humphrey ticket received 55.61 percent of the vote to the 44.39 percent earned by Goldwater/Miller.

Before checking the archives at the Secretary of State's website, I had assumed that, at least during the height of World War II, South Dakota might have supported President Roosevelt, but no. This rock-ribbed Republican stronghold voted for that party's candidates in both 1940 and 1944. In 1936, perhaps because he had held the nation together during the Depression, South Dakota supported the FDR/Garner ticket to the tune of 54.02 percent. (Probably because Alf Landon's vice presidential runningmate was named Knox.)

There's little doubt that South Dakota will go Republican as usual at the end of the current presidential campaign, regardless of the circumstances, and that is, to a certain extent, frustrating to one such as me who has no intention of voting that way.

One minute I'm thinking to myself, what's the sense of bothering to vote because we know how South Dakota will go, but in the next minute I remind myself that, in every case, not voting at all is a disgusting response, even if one's candidate or pet issue loses. For that matter, even if one overlooks the presidential race, we have a U.S. Senate seat and a U.S. House seat to fill, legislative races to decide and, as usual in South Dakota, a whole armload of assorted ballot issues, most of which people have referred to a vote.

So do your duty, pick up your absentee ballot now or vote on Nov. 4. (A reminder: If your voter registration is not updated, you have until Oct. 20 to get that done. Shame on you if you don't.)

Even before the Republican Party chose a 72-year-old two-time cancer patient as its presidential candidate and a woman from Wasilla, Alaska, who has a rifle rack showing in the back window of her pickup cab as its vice presidential nominee, I had determined that they don't get my vote. And even though you didn't ask why and you probably don't care what anybody in the Big Bad Media thinks, I'll tell you why.

About a month ago I heard one of the television commentators ask aloud the question that had crossed my mind way back in January when the primary elections began. And that question is this: What part of the past eight years makes the Republican Party deserving of another four (or probably eight) years in the White House? What makes them worthy of being rewarded for the last eight years?

Since the first time each of us began taking social studies and learning about the governmental process in our country, we learned that we have a powerful weapon to use against office-holders with whom we disagree---vote them out of office when the next election comes around. You may say that President Bush (and Cheney and Rumsfeld, et al.) aren't running for re-election so I shouldn't use that reasoning. Sorry, but what is my alternative? Pretending that Sen. McCain is a new man, a maverick, a reformer, even though he's been in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades is a bit of a stretch.

That's my take. I realize that the majority of voters in this state disagree with me. But whichever way you have decided to vote, just be sure to do it, either now in advance or at the polls on Election Day.

Regardless of your political persuasions and mine, we can agree that the debates this year should draw all-time record numbers of television viewers, starting Friday night when Sen. Obama and possibly even Sen. McCain face the questioning of Jim Lehrer on the campus at Ole Miss. It's enough to make me consider skipping high school football this week to stay home to watch the debate live. Rest assured, however, that the cable news networks will be rebroadcasting the debate later in the evening and early-morning hours if you aren't home to see it when it happens live.

Then there will come the one debate between Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin next Thursday, Oct. 2, followed by two more presidential candidate debates on Oct. 7 and Oct. 15.

In this crazy, memorable year of incredible interest in politics, these four debates could tip the scales. Even not, they will make for fascinating television viewing.

Thanks for reading this far as I expressed my views. I respect yours as well, even you who will reply to this as "Anonymous."