So apparently, there was a Democratic debate last night on ABC, which I missed. Maybe you missed it too. That’s okay, I can sum it up in one sentence from this Washington Post article: “The debate also touched on Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, taxes, the economy, guns and affirmative action.”

Iraq, the economy, yes, the most important issues of our time, were merely “touched on.” Instead, they spent most of their time on very substantive issues such as whether Obama wears a flag lapel pin. Never mind that the Bush Administration approved torture and eviscerated the Fourth Amendment. Apparently, our attire is more important than our allegiance to American principles and the Constitution in determining one’s patriotism.

That the sentence quoted above is even a possible formulation is laughable. It’s something you’d expect to excerpt from The Onion, not the Washington Post.

We’re not going to win unless we fight like hell against this freak show.

I thought Obama would coast to victory because of the anger over the Iraq war and the economy, but it’s not going to be enough. That debate is a mere taste of what we’re going to face this election season.