The Voices In My Head - The Official Blog of Chris Stubbs

Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with gaming, technology, or education. But its awesome, so read it anyway.

So last night I had the pleasure ( ? ) of catching a good chunk of the Democratic Presidential AFL-CIO town hall debate which was being broadcast from Soldier Field in Chicago. As a side, I'm democratic by nature, but this post really has nothing to do with democrats or republicans, so fear not some form of Stubstyle political brainwashing =)

As a rule, I try and catch as many of these political events as I can, if for no other reason than my own education. But, inevitably, the spinning, sidestepping, and the misdirecting associated with politics infuriates me. After my third obscenity laced tirade reached triple digit decibals, it was aparent to me that last night would be no less frustrating. One would think I might have learned my lesson enough to just read the recap the next morning. But the rage-a-holic in me refuses to let go of the remote ;-) I suppose there is also some sort of stunted part of my brain that believes that just once, a debate like this might be different.

Somewhere around the lightning round, when Keith Olbermann struggled yet again to stop one of the canadites from spewing over their alloted time, the intelligent part of my brain woke enough to remind me how stupid this entire process was. And I started seething, not at, but for, the nurse, the disabled steel worker, the iraqi veteran who were trodded up to ask their question, pat on the head by the political process, and then given side answers to cocerns that make or break their lives. Its nothing new, and I don't hold it against any of the canadites (I actually very much like some of them) - its just politics.

For those that know me, hearing the phrase "you know what you should do" come out of my mouth is generally a que that an idea of epic rediculousness is about to follow. To give you an idea, I believe my last such quote was "you know what we should do? We should make EMT's wear clown suits".

Well last night, I had an epiphany. I turned to my girlfriend and said "you know what we should do - we should make political debates more like 'Around the Horn' ".

For those who don't know it, Around the Horn is one of ESPN's talking head shows. The idea is very simple. The host plays the role of a moderator, while four panelists respond to sports related questions, earning points for their arguments. Over time, the lowest point earners are elimited, until only 1 panelist remains, and that person is rewarded for winning with 30 seconds of open air time, to talk about anything they would like. But the big kicker about Around the Horn, is the mute button. If panelists talk for too long... if they get off topic... if they dont answer the question or if they are just making no sense, the host preses a button and the panelist is muted. Bam.

A mute button? Could, for the first time since the rideable flame thrower, a "you know what you should do" idea result in something brilliant?

Think about it. Canadites get their allotted time. If they go over by a substancial amount, no more "Senator.... Senator you.... Senator we are out.... Senator please". Just a mute button. Canadites start spinning a question about workplace safety into the war on terror? Mute button. Shirk the answer to a question and you get the mute button. Give straight, honest answers to questions without polticial doubletalk and you get points. Get the most points and you get 5 minutes at the end of the debate to say absolutely any thing your little heart desires in front of the American public while your competition just stands there and smiles.

While we're at it - lets get some more toughness in there too. Keith Olbermann will be getting fanmail from me for his "So was that a yes or a no, Senator Obama?" comment, made when a sidestep answer was given to a question. Lets get more of that snappy pizaz in there. Much more!

Now since none of this has anything to do with technology, lets throw in a Web 2.0 bone - let Americans cast votes on the web, or though their cell phones to give or take points from canadites. Let America help the moderator determine who gets facetime and who doesnt.

Im sure it sounds crazy, but most of my ideas do. Although, its no worse than what we've got now. Unless of course you don't like real answers to real questions. This one is going in the "you know what you should do" hall of fame!

P.S. Does anyone else think Christopher Dodd sounds like a long lost Baldwin brother?

Images taken from http://www.msnbc.com and http://www.ontaponline.com