debate story

[SteppingRazor]

Howdy folks! Just got enough posts under my belt to post a message. Here's a story I wrote for my local weekly:

(snip)
"1960: The first televised presidential debates occur when John F. Kennedy takes on Richard “OK, I Am a Crook” Nixon. Television’s ability to change the world is realized as young, dashing JFK beats the holy hell out of Tricky Dick, who sweats profusely and even sports a 5 o’clock shadow in one debate. In an alternate reality where voters are sane, Nixon is tarred, feathered and laughed out of Washington, never to show his face again.

1976: Gerald Ford, successor to the depredations of Richard “Dark Lord of the Sith” Nixon, attempts a boost to his re-election campaign through a series of debates. Unsurprisingly, he is stomped by an ex-peanut farmer from Georgia. The farmer in question, Jimmy Carter, eventually wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Ford eventually gains a reputation for falling down and hitting people with golf balls.

Vice presidential side note: This election year features the first debate between vice presidential candidates. In a bizarre coincidence, both of the candidates for this ultimate dead-end job, Walter Mondale and Bob Dole, will eventually run for the presidency. Both will lose handily.

1980: Republican candidate Ronald Reagan, who was reportedly present at the Lincoln-Douglas debates, proves his mastery of media manipulation by having only a single debate with Democrat Jimmy Carter but also debating independent candidate/punching bag John Anderson. Reagan wins both debates and the election. His administration then goes on to destroy the economy, pull the country into unnecessary war, promote a missile-defense system based on science fiction, provide arms to right-wing fundamentalist crazies from Central America to the Middle East, and take credit for ending the Soviet Union, though Mikhail Gorbachev would likely disagree."
(snip)


Here's the full story:
http://www.southflorida.com/citylink/sfe-cl-coverhistory.story

And more debate coverage in my paper, starting here:
http://www.southflorida.com/citylink/sfe-cl-cover.story

We generally do music and entertainment, but made a foray into politics with the debate being down here. Hope y'all like this. It's my first foray into politics since Bob Graham dropped from the primaries. If you _really_ like it, write a letter to the paper so we can justify continuing this coverage (especially if you're 18-35. Our demographic, and whatnot).