Litmus Test? Litmus test? And... debate thoughts.

Honestly... pretend you're President. You get to appoint a Supreme Court justice who will be making national decisions for 3-4 decades longer than you, even if you get to serve two terms. I would have about, oh, 900 billion litmus tests for that person. I'd want to know what my appointee thought about everything. And yet, decades ago, the phrase "litmus test" became some terrible thing that a President might have for his Supreme Court appointees.

We need to get over this. Any President who nominates some one to the Supreme Court and doesn't care about their views on major issues is, at best, not a very thoughtful person.

My verdict on the debate: A draw, at best for Kerry. I really feel like Kerry needed a good zinger or two in this one. This will probably prolong the statistical tie between the two. That's bad news. This is like a sporting event. You have to beat the champ. You can't let it be close. If the race stays tied in the closing weeks, that's to Bush's advantage because he has the bully pulpit of the Presidency and it's always harder to convince people to make a change. Kerry's campaign needs to fight as if they're ten points behind, not as if they're an inch from victory.

The good news is, the debates made Kerry a contender. The bad news is, he only crushed Bush once in three opportunities.