Can Zingers be "In Depth"?

[Haruo]

I see this link at Google News:

In Depth: Debate: Obama wins with 'horses and bayonets' zinger -Newsday

Strikes me as a contradiction in terms.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Dave Roberts]

There has been very little debate and even less depth to theses Presidential debates. No issue has really been discussed. We have only heard the talking points and parts of stump speeches in all this rhetoric. There has not been a desire to ask Americans to use their minds in this.

[Haruo]

The human mind is obsolete. Haven't you noticed how much smarter your telephone is than you are? (Not speaking to anyone in particular here, just venting. And I don't have a smartphone.)

[Haruo]

Okay, well, obsolescent...

[Ed Pettibone]

[Sandy]

Here in Pennsylvania, a state that wavers back and forth in battleground status, we get live phone calls, no robocalls here, except that the Obama "ground army" is rather overwhelming here in this part of the state, especially since the Romney/Ryan campaign decided that the margin required to overcome the President's poll lead was too much, and pulled out. I hear, though, that most of the 16,000 "ground army" that was at work here has moved next door, into Ohio.

[Ed Pettibone]

[Sandy]

[Haruo]

Teach a robot to talk, you make a small headline. Teach a robot to talk on the phone, and you've made a Public Enemy.

[Sandy]

[Haruo]

I'm not sure what you're saying you'd be afraid of, Sandy. Afraid of what would happen if the debates had in-depth thought content? Afraid of what would happen if we asked Americans to use their minds?

I'm sure both sides in the debates are afraid of both of those things, and they have gone to considerable lengths to be sure they don't happen.

[Neil Heath]

[Sandy]

[Ed Pettibone]

[Sandy]

Not necessarily, Ed. If the campaign actually had some substance in it, we could make a choice based on the substance, and not on the sound bytes. That's not a real problem. On the other hand, what in the world would we do if people actually used their minds? It might actually make it possible for the government to accomplish something. That could be frightening. We're used to minimal involvement.

[Ed Pettibone]