Master Debating?

What was most striking about last night's foreign policy focused presidential debate was how clearly Governor Romney wants to be President. That is to say, it was clear that from a foreign policy standpoint that he wants to be the current president.

Aside from some attempts to paint President Obama's economic policies as foreign policy liabilities (based on the notion that a weaker economy gives America less leverage) and a bit of Monday morning quarterbacking, I didn't hear a single case where Governor Romney articulated a meaningful distinction between how he would handle international situations and the way the President already is handling them. I could be missing something but, if the core of your foreign policy position is that you'd do what the incumbent is doing except for a few cases where you'd have done something else in hindsight, then you're not making a great case for a change of leadership.

Admittedly, presidential debates on foreign policy tend to favor the incumbent who's actually been on the job and tested by multiple tricky situations. However, when the only means you have to distinguish yourself from your opponent is the same thoroughly discredited accusations about the President's "apology tour"and empty promises to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, you haven't distinguished yourself as Commander in Chief material. Rather you've made the incumbent look that much more capable (dare I say, presidential?) and made yourself look like a wannabe. Needless to say, the greatest country on Earth deserves better than a wannabe.

Word (R Money Mix)

I've resolved to give the current Republican Presidential candidate due respect for the office should he win the election next month. In the meantime, though, the only thing I'm undecided about between now and January 2013 is whether to call him "Shit Romney" or "Tit Romney". It's a tough call because, while I respect the usefulness of the former descriptive, I very much appreciate the latter as well. Needless to say, until I can settle on one or the other, I'll stick with the tried and true "R Money."

Jousting Over Lance

I'm getting tired of all the haters dumping on Lance Armstrong over this so-called "overwhelming evidence" that he used performance enhancing drugs to win his Tour de France titles. Back in 1994, the news media was constantly harping on about the "overwhelming evidence" that one Orenthal James Simpson murdered his ex-wife and her friend. As the record shows, "the Juice" turned out to be...oh, dear lord...can I please change the topic of this posting to the wedding of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel?

Post-partisan Lobotomy (2012 Remix)

I have surprisingly mixed feelings about my lobotomy-induced belief that it doesn't matter whether Romney or Obama wins the election. Still, it could be worse. I could be consumed with a desire to vote for an unprincipled opportunist who's distrusted by the political right because of all that he accomplished as the "Republican" governor of a democratic-leaning state and distrusted by the left because he seems compelled to disavow those accomplishments as part of a pathetic ploy to appease the right.

Cry Me a River? Not So Much, Doctor.

Sadly, the most distinctive thing about this past weekend's semi-season finale of Doctor Who was how underwhelming it was. Not only were the hard-boiled detective trappings used in the most boring way possible, the ending didn't even come close to being "sad" or " heartbreaking" or any of the other adjectives that were used in overselling this episode to fans.

While the device of the Doctor learning what happened to Amy and Rory through the last page of the book was set up nicely, what it revealed was actually quite disappointing. Learning that they lived well frankly undercuts any sense of sadness or tragedy and the Doctor's reaction to the revelation was ridiculous. One of the few constants in Doctor Who is that, while the Doctor may miss the friends who leave him, he always wants them to be happy in their lives that come after no matter what it means for him.

It's not like Steven Moffat doesn't understand this concept. He executed it brilliantly in the Doctor's monologue near the end of "The Big Bang". Two seasons later, Smith's Doctor, who once exemplified the character's simultaneously ancient but youthful soul, now comes across like a desperate high-schooler whose crush has gone off with someone else. When I think back to the way previous Doctors handled these kinds of losses - Pertwee's somber dignity when Jo Grant left or Eccleston's heartfelt request that Rose "have a fantastic life" - it's hard not to feel cheated, especially because I know Moffat and Smith can do far better.