>They were 'heated' but really, they were entertaining as well. One thing I think the two of you may not be seeing is that the flame wars, while entertaining and disconcerting at the same time, really do cause people to think on their choices. I would still prefer to see a discussion of the issues and policies though. I guess that won't happen anytime soon here at least, let alone in the media.
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>One thing for John H, with all his support of McCain and viscerating of Obama, he has touched on some of the issues in the race.

How about a list of elephants? I.e. the issues that neither candidate nor party want's to touch? They all like to frame the discussion, to make the list of question and make sure that nothing that's not on the list gets mentioned.