Debate oddities
Many of those watching today's much-anticipated debate in Des Moines among the Republican presidential aspirants no doubt were surprised to find perennial candidate (and perennial also-ran) Alan Keyes part of the proceedings.
True, Keyes could not resist the temptation to technically join the fray. But his "campaign" (if that word even applies) has been even more cursory than usual. And his addition in the debate likely will only needlessly distract from the last chance the main contenders will have to trade blows before the Jan. 3 caucuses.
Thursday's face-off among the Democrats in Iowa, meanwhile, apparently will be notable for an absence. Dennis Kucinich has been informed by the debate organizer, the Des Moines Register, that there won't be a podium available for him because, according to a release from the Kucinich campaign, "his Iowa field director operates from a home office rather than a rented storefront."
You can read the entire release here.
-- Don Frederick
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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