On BBC Radio 5 tonight there was a phone-in debate about which candidate the latest Bin Laden tape "helped" most.
The pundits were a guy calling himself Shaun Steel representing the Republicans, and a guy who writes for Malcom In The Middle representing the Democrats.
The "Republican" would not shut up.
The poor presenter kept having to try and shout him down all the time and I mean all the time. Even when it was obvious he was being turned down he kept on ranting like he wasn't listening. I swear it was like the guy would be invited to interject then take his headphones off and rant at the mike and not pay one bit of attention to the presenter.
He went on about "100 million Moslems worldwide[sic] being schooled in anti-Western values ready to wage Fascist-Jihad" He avoided the questions. His every statement provoked fear and paranoia which was baseless.
When challenged on the very real fact that previous Republican administraions had armed Saddam he sidestepped. The guy could not see in any other shades than black and white, and even then he was trying to paint the black over to suit his own view.
Anyway the whole thing made me frightened and angry. Unless Rush Limbaugh and ClearChannel is a secret leftwing conspiracy designed to make articulate Republicans look stupid and undermine real political debate.
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Please replace the handset, and try again.