A fellow came up to me yesterday at WonderCon and we had a nice, friendly conversation about political topics that have wafted through this blog. The guy is one of those Republicans who doesn't want the "Obama Agenda" (his term) but also doesn't want any of the particular men who are in contention for the G.O.P. nomination. He understood, as some readers of this blog do not, that I have great reservations about some of the things the Obama administration has done…and a few that they haven't done. I'll write about a couple as soon as I get my thoughts more organized.
What struck me as we spoke is that in all of TV, radio or even the Internet, there's no place anyone can go to see two people discuss issues, politely and (I thought) reasonably. Standing there in the exhibit hall with women parading by in Red Sonja outfits, we were saying things like, "Well, I understand your point" and "I may be wrong about this" that you never hear in political discussions in public venues. There, it's usually two warring parties refusing to give an inch, twisting themselves in pretzel-shapes to not admit that anything the other side says could be a valid point. The closest I've seen is some of Jon Stewart's chats, especially in the online Extended Interviews which I have to remember to watch instead of the truncated televised versions, not after.
The one Stewart did the other night with Grover Norquist was interesting, given how much Norquist was tempering his arguments and moderating positions in order to play to the Stewart audience. In that sense, I'm not sure it was an entirely honest discussion but Norquist did get to speak at length and he scored a few points. In Stewart's chats with folks like that, no one ever yells. No one ever doesn't get to finish their sentences. I vaguely recall one conversation in which the host spoke with great passion on some topic, took a lot of time to do that, and then the guest complained he hadn't received sufficient time to reply…but the segment was just about over and he couldn't. Stewart seemed embarrassed and I don't think I've ever seen him do that again.
More to my point, those chats always end on friendly terms with the guest at least appearing eager to come back on again soon…and this brings me to a question: Can anyone suggest a host (TV, radio, anywhere) who is as conservative as Stewart is liberal who does something similar? Who could have on the liberal equivalent of Norquist (say, Robert Reich or Paul Krugman) and talk politics with them in such a mature but entertaining manner? This is not a trick question or a desire on my part to prove that no such person is possible in the conservative world. In point of fact, I think it is but the con-goer I mentioned above couldn't think of one and neither can I. I'd love to hear some suggestions.