More Americans finding debates are must-see TV

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/413950,CST-NWS-hunter05.article

I phoned my favorite Democrat on Monday morning to ask if she'd watched the candidates' debate. In April, during the last televised debate, she tuned into "Ugly Betty" instead of watching the Democrats verbally spar on MSNBC, saying it was too early to watch a political debate. She simply couldn't muster the interest.

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This time my friend said she would have watched, only it was her son's high school graduation. In fact, her son, being an Obamaphile, taped the debate and her adult daughter watched it on CNN, trying to decide whether she would support Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. She's tipping toward Clinton, based on the New York senator's bravura performance, including the dressing down of CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer over some "hypothetical" questions he asked.

The point -- and it was a surprising one to me -- is that interest in the presidential campaigns is mounting, even at this early stage. The feeling of insecurity in the country with a war gone wrong and economic jitters over rising health care costs has evoked more interest in this presidential race than in past years.

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According to the Pew Research Center, 22 percent of Americans said in May that they were following the presidential campaigns closely.
Think about that and compare it with the 8 percent who were really interested in May 2003 (when there was a standing president running again) and 11 percent in June 1999. (At that time the Democratic nomination was in still in doubt and George W. Bush's lead among Republicans was narrowing.)

[sproutster]

1. I know at work it's becoming must see tv

Even the death metal dude that joins us for smoke breaks. :)

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. who's got the death metal vote so far?

I'm guessing Gravel.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. Bush is the lamest of lame ducks

it makes sense that people are looking for whoever is going to replace him. I think people were looking for who was going to replace him the week after the 2004 election.