Watching the Democratic Debate now. A couple thoughts so far: Somewhat should ask Joe Lieberman what it means to be "strong on values." Also, what it would mean to be weak on values, which of his competitors are weak on values, and whether the Bush administration could be characterized as "strong on values." Glad to see David Kay's charges getting some play here, given the way they've been underplayed by the media - or arguably overshadowed by the primaries. Dean is right to point the finger at Cheney, and Kerry did a deft job of avoiding either disputing or echoing his charge. I'm not sure what Edwards has in mind when he calls for a comission organized not by Congress but by "us, the people," although I'm all for it. Also, Edwards is in Congress too... Sharpton has joined Kucinich in calling for everyone to stay in for a long race to mobilize all their constituencies. I think there's a strong case for that. Also, he's right to point out that unlike John Edwards' dad, his couldn't have gotten a job as a mill worker.

Cheney says in the debates marriage rights are for the states to decide, and then Bush last month calls for a federal marriage ammendment. Now, from the AP, yet another demonstration that the "federalism" of the Republican Right represents a defense only of "states' rights" to be more conservative than the federal government: California and other states that want to make marijuana available to sick or dying patients are flouting federal drug laws in much the same way that Southern states defied national civil rights laws, a senior Bush administration lawyer said.