kos

A quick glance around the net shows that there's been a lot of analysis about the "debate" between Markos and Harold Ford yesterday. I didn't think it was quite as disappointing as Christian Progressive Liberal at Jack & Jill Politics, but it did lack for any real spark or clash.

I don't want to talk to much about Markos' performance, but here are just a few things I noticed about Harold Ford's comments:

• When discussing the history of the DLC, Ford explicitly invoked the what David Sirota calls the McGovern myth.
• When defending Democrats who vote outside of the mainstream of their constituents, Ford explicitly mentioned the "rational actor" theory that George Lakoff calls an "18th-century idea of the mind".

Individually, these might not mean much. But the fact that Ford invoked both of these ideas shows how truly out of touch with the current political reality he is. I'll elaborate on Lakoff's theory later, but to me this indicates that the declining relevance of the DLC is due not to their candidates or their funding, but rather their basic intellectual approach to politics and the world at large.

During the Q&A period, the activist in me was frustrated by Ford's evasiveness, but my practical campaign side was impressed with his message discipline. Ford's three-legged dog, so to speak, was the basic economic ideas that will be crucial in this election. Unfortunately, some poorly-asked questions allowed Ford to dodge the questions and hide behind basic platitudes.