A lot of great thoughts in there, @ocrdu, I appreciate it. I'm not sure a debate has to have a winner (I think the media has played into conditioning that it does, at least here in the United States), but distinguishing a difference between a debate and a discussion makes a lot of sense.
You're right, politicians should be judged on the things you mentioned and it would be difficult to demonstrate or illustrate those in a debate - at least a real debate.
I hope the direction changes across the pond in the Netherlands. I almost said Denmark, I always get "Danish" and "Dutch" mixed up. We have a tulip festival here in Holland, Michigan every year. Lots of dancing wooden shoes, beautiful flowers and of course the windmills. :)
No marihuana then?
Heh, well, I've never smoked marijuana (or any narcotic) but I'm sure that if anyone wants marijuana here in the United States they would have no problem acquiring it. I'll leave it up to others to determine whether or not that is a good thing.
I just mentioned it because it seems to fit in the wooden shoes, tulips and windmill category 8-). Image is hard to shake off, even when marihuana use in The Netherlands is far lower than in the USA.
I do admit, hesitantly, that I have owned a pair of wooden shoes and that there are tulips in my garden.
Isn't that interesting, that when something is made legal its usage tends to go down dramatically? Maybe there is a psychological thing going on there, where something is more attractive if it is difficult or illegal to do.