Debate or debacle...

There is some long range planning going on by the Wayne County Economic Development Council to bring a 2008 Presidential debate to Richmond. The planning is so far in advance we don't even know who the candidates will be. We do know there will be three presidential candidates on the ballot in Wayne County.

There will be a Republican, very possibly one that is pro-choice on abortion. There will be a Democrat, most likely one that supported the Iraq war, but now opposes the Iraq war, and has no plan to end the Iraq war. There will also be a Libertarian on the ballot, (barring an unlikely Ron Paul nomination by the Republicans), who wants to get the federal government out of the abortion issue, and who was opposed to the Iraq war from the outset and who proposes to bring the troops home.

There is also a strong possibility that there will only be two candidates included in the debates, most likely a Republican and a Democrat. If the EDC was a private organization using private funds for this venture, they could invite whoever the wanted to the debate. But since they are using everybody's tax money, and since Libertarian candidates often pull 20 or 30% of the vote total in Wayne County, the EDC should insist that all of the presidential candidates on the ballot should be included in the debates.

I won't hold my breath, however.