baltimoresun.com

« McCain's liberal bailout plan | Main | Talking politics »

Generation Joe: Goog' the candidates

Here's the latest from my 20-something Generation Y nephew Joey, this time with an observation about our old-school presidential debate format:

You know what? It's 2008, and we're more technologically advanced than ever. Google and Wikipedia help me find just about everything I need to know. Want to know where McCain went to high school? Wiki it. How  -- if at all -- did Obama vote on issue X? Google it. So, why is it that during a presidential debate, we can't give a moderator a laptop and have him say, "Hold on just a second, Senator, I'm going to look into that right now"?

McCain says Obama voted to raise taxes for the middle-class 67.2 million times in the past three years. Obama says, "Nuh-uh." Well, why not look it up right then and there, on stage, in front of 40 or 50 million voters? That instant fact-checking would surely dissuade the lying and exaggerating. 

Posted by Dan Rodricks at 7:32 AM | | Comments (0)
        

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Please enter the letter "c" in the field below:
About Dan Rodricks
Jan. 8, 2009, marked 30 years for Dan Rodricks' column in The Baltimore Sun. Over three decades, Dan has won numerous regional and several national awards for his reporting and commentary -- in print and on the air. "I've had opportunity to write a column and work in both radio and television, never having to leave my adopted hometown of Baltimore to have those experiences," he says. "I consider myself very fortunate." In addition to writing a twice-weekly column for The Baltimore Sun and his Random Rodricks blog, Dan is currently the host of Midday, on WYPR-FM, National Public Radio in Baltimore. An artful story-teller and social critic, he has observed local, state and national political and cultural trends for three decades, and has a lot to say about almost everything.
• More on Dan Rodricks
• Dan's Facebook page


Midday with Dan Rodricks
Follow @middayrodricks on Twitter
-- ADVERTISEMENT --

Recent posts

Dan Rodricks' columns
Recent columns • Rodricks talks about his column on NPR
Dear drug dealers
Dan Rodricks' campaign to help Baltimore residents "get out of the game."
Most Recent Comments
Blog updates
Recent updates to baltimoresun.com news blogs
 Subscribe to this feed
Monthly Archives
Powered by Movable Type 3.36