Real debate; honest to God, true, respectful even if passionate debate is of immense value. It opens doors to deeper understanding, better communication and lasting change.

Sadly, when you watch these televised debates of candidates you usually get a lot of fake/faux debating and a lot bullshit you have to shovel through to find the one teeny-tiny diamond they pooped out during their two hours of windbagging. I experienced just such drivel when I tried to watch a recent local debate between the two run-off candidates for Nashville mayor and I tuned out after about three minutes. It was obvious that one candidate was incredibly fake and his opponent was just boring. I don’t remember their names… maybe someone in town can help; the faker was the guy claiming to have made a ‘pledge’ to not raise property tax and goading his opponent to do the same; the opponent, the boring one, was himself obviously bored with the first guy’s nagging. Neither one impressed me. Me thinks Nashville’s in trouble… but I digress.

As I said, usually these debates are void of any real honest-to-God debate on a real-people level. It’s all posturing and politicking. Tonight’s Republican debate on Fox News Channel, however, became a whole different ballgame about half-way through. And a whole lot of fun!

Two candidates — well, all the candidates, really but two in particular — really got into it about Iraq and what needs to happen now. Ron Paul was passionate and forceful and so was Mike Huckabee, in his own way. —-You can tell the guy’s a Southern Baptist pastor. He talks like it — not in rhetoric, but in cadence and calm demeanor. —Both made very good points; very good points.

I agreed and disagreed with both, and each gave me much to consider. But the thing that really got me most excited is that this is exactly the kind of debate going on in the American public. This is what we voters are tussling with, struggling with, grappling with and trying to come to some sort of conclusion about. Both men argued passionately, yet respectfully, the main points that so encompass the public and private debates happening across dinner tables, lunchroom tables, water-coolers and living rooms all over the country:  Do we admit error and miscalculation in going into Iraq and pull out or are we whining just because it’s hard and ugly and nasty; do we need to just suck it up and realize this is what war is, and not the stuff we see in movies? Are we a divided country that needs to admit failure in Iraq and regroup around an exit strategy or one country that needs to unite around the decisions of leaders and stay in the fight to the finish?  Is this about humility or is it about honor?

Tonight’s debate was good because, finally, at least two politicians truly entered the real debate going on in the American public. Finally, for at least a moment, there was no rehearsed speechifying, practiced disgust or feigned anger. There was only passion, conviction and debate that was real and valuable and honest. Oh my gosh how rare that is! Not even Reagan’s "There you go again," can compare with the Paul/Huckabee mini-debate tonight. Would that all the debates from here on would be thus.

PS — On top of a moment good debate, I learned a new word tonight: complementarity. I thought the guy was just making it up, as people are wont to do these days (all too often!). But it’s for real. Check it out. Who knew politicians actually know what they are saying when they use big words?