Michael Lippman

Okay, first of all, I loved the debate. 

Context: I'm a passionate Obama supporter.  I was very impressed by Palin last night, not necessarily by her ideas but by her toughness, by her ability to go toe to toe with Biden, to debate fiercely, to slug it out, to put up an awesome fight!  And I was very impressed by Biden for exactly the same.  He went toe to toe with Palin, which by the way, was equally impressive.  He debated the crap out of her, slugging it out till the bitter end.  15 rounds.  Awesome and exhilarating.

What does this have to do with food? -- I "ate" nothing during the debate; I didn't order pizza or prepare a nice soup.  I just watched.  What I'm starting to really get is that "food" exists on many levels.  We need to be fed, we need to eat, we need to be hungry on many levels.  A friend with an eating disorder is grasping that her problem amounts to an inability to take things in, to digest things, to enjoy things, to receieve, to allow, to recognize that hunger, and the quenching of hunger is FUNDAMENTALLY HEALTHY.

Our souls are hungry, first and foremost, and MUST be fed.  This is not a political or a religious statement, but a fact as far as I'm concerned.  And, on a slightly "lower" level, the intellect must be fed, the mind must be fed, the artistic spirit must be fed. 

And, that debate last night was pretty good food on the cultural/political level.  We need real food on that level!  We've been starved.  We've been starved.  As Biden likes to say "let me say it again": we've been starved.  Watching Biden and Palin slug it out was INFINITELY more nourishing than watching Palin squirm, cornered by Katie Couric, in one minute viral internet videos.  That's junk food.  Last night's debate was a full meal.  Bravo.