Politics on my mind

I put up a new Annotated Debate, and I also just had dinner with Will, who's pro-Bush. This, plus some other things, has me wondering about politics.

I still wonder if it's possible to create a place for reasoned, evidence-based, point-by-point political discussion online. Something like REALM (results here - I wish I could maintain this better!). Perhaps not. Nobody seems to change their mind or act on the basis of reason, anyway. Then again, maybe voters are just stupid or incompatible.

Or maybe part of the problem is that, unlike ketchup or soda, voters don't have enough choice. Spoiled by segmentation and the long tail, we demand Diet Kerry or Caffeine Free Bush With Lime. On Leno the other night, the audience clapped loudly at the suggestion they deserved more choices. Leno egged them on, noting both candidates were rich white Yalies, while Chris Matthews noted (rightly, I'd think) that the candidates offer the starkest political choice than in recent memory.