As President Bush refuses to face the facts on the ground and properly address the civil war raging in Iraq, it becomes increasingly clear that he plans on simply passing the war off to the next president. With so much at stake, our next president will have no margin for error when he or she takes office. And yet, the organizers of the first presidential debate thought 60 seconds was enough time for each candidate to speak on the issue.
It's time we give Iraq the attention it deserves in this presidential election. Joe Biden wants a real debate on Iraq, and he's not the only one.
We spend more than a minute brushing our teeth, making a cup of coffee and filling our cars with gas. Does anyone think we should ask candidates for the most powerful office on Earth to lay out their plans for Iraq in less time?
Senator Biden recently launched a new online effort to call on the major media networks to give the country a full, 90-minute debate dedicated exclusively to Iraq.
USA Today's Mark Memmott is asking readers for their take on the concept, and New Hampshire's Concord Monitor published an editorial today praising the idea:
Joe Biden is absolutely right about one thing: 60 seconds is not enough time to debate the future of Iraq. He's called for a 90-minute debate on that one topic alone. The other candidates for president should sign on to the idea and find a television network willing to give them the airtime.
In the absence of such a serious approach to the most important job application process in the world, Biden and other candidates willing to test - and prove - themselves should schedule their own debates.
Do you think Iraq should have its own debate? The big networks will make this a priority if we tell them to make it a priority. Sign the petition, and help us get a real debate on Iraq.