Look, Ma, No Islam -- The Stupefying Democratic Debate

Well, we did learn two things from the CBS Democratic debate Saturday night:

1. Bernie Sanders thinks climate change causes terrorism.

How this piece of magic works, he didn’t get to explain, so we can only imagine. Maybe it ‘s a hot desert wind  making  normal people go to extremes, as in the famous opening of Raymond Chandler’s “Red Wind”:

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Ana’s that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

That global warming — it will get you every time.  ISIS-shmicis.  Forget Islam having anything to do with it.  Bernie doesn’t even want to pronounce the word. But neither, it seems, do any Democrats.  I have a suggestion for them.  When talking about World War II, don’t, under any circumstances, refer to our enemies as Nazis. It’s terribly un-PC.  Call them National Socialists… oh, wait.

2. Hillary Clinton wants to raise the 10,000 Syrian refugees Obama intends to admit to 65,000.  BUT…and this is important… none are to be allowed within fifty miles of Chappaqua.

Okay, she didn’t say the latter part, but she might as well have.  In fact, she can say just about anything she wants because she’s going to be the Democratic nominee under virtually any circumstances, unless, of course, she’s indicted.  (We can hope, can’t we?)

Sorry, that’s all I have to report, other than that none of the candidates seemed to know what their proposals would cost, quite probably because they have no idea and couldn’t care less. I started to nod off and concentrate on Twitter, which was more fun. From that, I gathered O’Malley said something nasty about Trump because The Donald tweeted back:  “Hillary and Sanders are not doing well, but what is the failed former Mayor of Baltimore doing on that stage? O’Malley is a clown.”

That could be the most publicity O’Malley got in his life.  He owes Trump big time.

The Donald, unfortunately,  wasn’t tweeting much beyond that — a dull evening all around.

But seriously, folks.  There’s been a bit of bloodletting the past few days on the Republican side — Trump v. Carson, Cruz v. Rubio, etc. — before the horrifying events in Paris.  Those internecine battles look pretty puerile now.  I know we have all egos and everyone thinks he or she (yes, Carly) is the best, but the carnage at the Bataclan concert hall has to remind us that much bigger things are stake than any single person’s  ambition or fandom.  This war is for real.  It’s not about any candidate. It’s about our civilization.  I know that sounds pompous, but it’s so evidently true.  Don’t, repeat don’t, do anything to your fellow Republicans that would hand the election to Hillary Clinton.