When I saw the Democratic "debate" yesterday, the first thing that came to mind was The Jerry Springer Show. Playing the part of Jerry Springer, the moderators had brought out Obama and Hillary and had coached them to act as over-the-top angry as they could. And they obliged with a pseudo-nsty family argument.

Obama accused Hillary of trying to break up his marriage. Hillary countered by charging that Obama had been a pimp on Rush Street in Chicago to earn money for college and law school. Obama shot back that he had a really steamy secret about Hillary's love life that he had been withholding because he wanted to keep their political affairs on a higher plane. Hillary suggested he board a higher plane and jump out without a parachute.

The media seem to think it made good theater. I think that's an apt choice of phrase. I think it WAS theater. I think they were putting on a fine show of being opponents and tossing out all the dirty laundry, but as with the Jerry Springer Show, it was staged. Mostly it's to get the various stained laundry out in the open so it can be declared old news if the Republicans bring it up during the election campaigning. It also creates more interest in the Democratic primaries. It makes the voters think that Obama and Hillary are really fighting this out when it is fairly clear that Hillary will be the nominee for president, Obama will be the vp nominee, and all this is a deal worked out long ago.

It did underscore, however, how much television has influenced presidential campaigns since the Nixon-Kennedy debates, and not for the better. The Democratic debates were about as civilized as two women catfighting over a worthless bum on the Jerry Springer Show, and just as substantive.