BackboneAmerica

This endless campaign is one long Halloween night. TV ads portray Schaffer as Dracula and Musgrave as Cruella deVille. You’d think Bush was the undead, running for a third term. Obama’s out there in his Messiah costume, and Biden is this year’s Lurch. Save us all, Great Pumpkin!

Okay, that’s my opener for one of our Head On mini-debates currently running on Colorado Public Television. It’s a reminder that while politics is serious business, and stakes are high this year in particular, the whole thing is also part of the human comedy. Lose our ability to laugh and we’ve ceased being American, say I. Below is the rest of my exchange with uber-liberal Susan Barnes-Gelt (a lovely person despite being wrong a lot). Scroll down the left column of our home page for the other four Head On scripts from this month.

Susan: Our stumbling economy promises more tricks than treats for Halloween. The Bush / McCain agenda – tax breaks for the rich and unregulated financial markets – predict a stormy fall. Bats in the belfry will be all too evident in the weeks to come.

John: Why so serious, Susan? All those candidates with their disguises and noisemakers are like a masquerade ball at the funny farm. No need to scare yourself at a haunted house – just flip the channels and watch a few political spots. It’s all so entertaining. Candy corn, anyone?

Susan: The global economic meltdown is no laughing matter. The McPainiacs are living proof that the cukoos nest isn’t endangered – but alive and well, migrating from Alaska to Arizona. Who says extreme climate changes aren’t damaging to the environment? I’ll pass on the nuts, thank you.