LOGO Debate

The LOGO Network tonight hosted a debate with all the Democratic candidates. (They had invited all the Republican candidates for a second debate but all declined.) As I tuned in too late to catch Obama or Edwards, my commentary will be brief, but I have two points:

1.) The format of the debate was very well done. In turns, each candidate came out and sat down - just the one candidate, panelists, and a moderator. The panel asked questions of the candidates, but because of the more intimate setting, any attempt to dodge was utterly transparent (I'm looking at you, Bill Richardson). The questions focused on issues important to the LGBT community (marriage equality, disease prevention, civil rights, etc.) that are often unexplored in the more "mainstream" debates. I would love to see more debates like this.

2.) As for the candidates, Mike Gravel is a little blurry-eyed (in 5 years marriage equality won't be an issue? Wishful thinking, methinks, though I would love nothing more than to be wrong), Bill Richardson looks like he's running for high school ASB President (the man has tremendous qualifications but lousy, lousy, lousy public speaking skills - he couldn't even answer a direct yes or no question), and much as I despise Hillary's triangulation, I will be 100% behind her should she get the nomination (she is articulate and, contrary to the Limbaugh-created image, rather affable). Dennis Kucinich is, well, he's Dennis Kucinich - he didn't say a single thing I disagreed with, but he's not a persuasive speaker; his rationales and justifications (which I agreed with, generally) were not stated in such a way that anyone who had previously disagreed with him would change their mind.