Who will speak up?

Scripps "As threat looms, they snooze"

In the presidential debates so far, which have been about as edifying as a frog-jumping contest, the candidates have delivered their poll-tested and scripted responses to questions about climate change, terrorism, the Iraq war, health care and immigration -- all important issues. But the issue they avoid -- perhaps because it appears to be a non-issue with the press and the voters -- is the approaching crisis in entitlement spending. The reason is simple -- none of the candidates has the political courage to tell Americans that the retirement of the baby-boom generation will soon force the nation to start making some painful choices between taxing and spending. Business as usual will mean a steady decline in our quality of life.

Whenever this issue does come up, the candidates love to tell you what they wouldn't do (e.g. no privatization, no new taxes) but never the hard choices they would prescribe for the problem.