Impressions of the Debate and Afterparty
By DARCY BURNER
WRITING For DAILY KOS
We were told we couldn’t bring our cellphones or Blackberries, so people’s fingers are twitching. The woman next to me is trying to figure out what time it is; nobody knows without their devices. Eventually we determine that a woman behind us is wearing a watch, which comes as a bit of a shock to everyone. We run on cell time.
I have to take notes with (and please understand my horror here) pen and paper. I brought in a little tablet to write on, the first tablet I could find when I was leaving the house very early this morning to catch the plane from Seattle to Boise to Las Vegas. I had asked to bring in the laptop (and extra battery and cellular broadband card), but they made it clear a day or two ago that it wouldn’t be allowed. So I’ve regressed. It’s a bit disorienting, really – no laptop and no cellphone? The horror!
This is the third formal political debate I’ve been to in my life. The first was my own debate against Dave Reichert last year; the second was the Presidential debate at YearlyKos in August. This one is less stressful than the first one, but I notice I’m a little anxious nonetheless. Memories? Projection? Merely concern about whether it’s going to be entertaining, or whether one or more of the candidates will implode?
