America's Real Debate

I  signed up for an online survey about last week’s presidential debate to answer questions that ultimately would end up on CBS News before I realized that the event coincided with the last day of the baseball season.

Here, in Cardinals’ Country, St. Louis’ game against Cincinnati was not a pivotal game. The National League playoffs had already been set. The American League teams were also set, it was  just a matter of who played who.

So, I had to weigh the importance of both. The debate versus the baseball games. American politics versus the American game. I debated myself over my choices. Debate leader Jim Leher or fair balls?

The debate, the first of three planned, focused on the economy. In these troubled times, economic recovery is important to the country. It would be interesting to see what each candidate had to offer while making veiled promises to fix everything and set us back on the right track.

So, I pondered my choices. I was a conscientious American and, like millions of others, had a stake in the presidential election. Although, personally, I don’t think the effects of whoever wins next month will trickle down to me that much. Still, this was America and it was an important night.

I chose what to watch as a red-blooded American. I picked the most important event, the one that had a longer-lasting impact on us all. 

I chose the baseball games. Romney against Obama? Give me Yankees and the Red Sox. Even the Cardinals’ game, which featured a lot of the team’s Triple A players from Memphis held my interest more.

And that’s said, what with me being in news. 

I did glance at the debate during pitching changes and when the innings ended, so I got a feel for what was going on. And I did participate in the after-debate online survey that simply asked my impression of each candidate on a basic semantic scale.

It’s a measure of what an imbecile I am, I guess. I couldn’t repeat what Romney’s stance is on cutting taxes and stimulating economy. I don’t know Obama’s plans on boosting employment. But I know the Cardinals are a good two-strike hitting team and Detroit has the one-two combination of pitching and hitting to make a playoff run.

Republican versus Democrat? Bah. American League versus National League is far more compelling for me. Ah, sports addiction.