Politics isn't beanbag, they like to say. The post-New Hampshire Democratic primary has more than proven that old saw. But for what? Here's one political junkie that could use a break, or at least would like to see a little bit more fighting over substance and a lot less warring among proxies over guaranteed attention-getting flashpoints. One could say that I'm a pretty mad voter at this point, because there are a few things I want to know about these candidates, and so far I've not heard the answers I need.

But as I prepare for a quick trip to Las Vegas to witness tonight's Democratic candidates debate, I'm not setting my expectations too high. For one thing, this is the gazillionth debate, and the track record of tonight's moderators, NBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert in going for the most predictable and prosaic lines of questioning in the "he said, she said" vein, is less than promising. We'll get more of what they did, what they said, how they voted, what they said about how the others voted. At this point, all of their records are tainted--they've all made idiotic mistakes and they've all done laudable deeds. That ground has been thoroughly covered.

The main combatants, Clinton and Obama, have finally called [1] a truce [2] on the flinging of racist and sexist stinkbombs, but what do you want to bet that the media giants they'll be facing tonight just won't be willing to let it all go? Let's hope our candidates can maintain their tenuous above-the-fray positions, and talk about some stuff that matters. It would be a refreshing change tonight to hear about what have they learned from their pasts, and where do they want take the country based on that. Because we've got some major challenges ahead, and some key unanswered questions are still hanging.

They've been out there for a while. Five long years ago, on March 15, 2003, Howard Dean galvanized the Democratic base and ignited a movement with a speech at the California State Democratic Convention. The "What I want to know [3]" speech is the single-most referenced moment in time people tell me about when they talk about getting passionate about politics.

What I want to know is what in the world so many Democrats are doing supporting the President's unilateral intervention in Iraq?

What I want to know is what in the world so many Democrats are doing supporting tax cuts, which have bankrupted this country and given us the largest deficit in the history of the United States?

What I want to know is why the Congress is fighting over the Patient's Bill of Rights? The Patient's Bill of Rights is a good bill, but not one more person gets health insurance and it's not 5 cents cheaper.

What I want to know is why the Democrats in Congress aren't standing up for us, joining every other industrialized country on the face of the Earth in providing health insurance for every man, woman and child in America.

What I want to know is why so many folks in Congress are voting for the President's Education Bill-- "The No School Board Left Standing Bill"-- the largest unfunded mandate in the history of our educational system!

In the five years since Howard Dean stood in front of that electrified crowd and started asking those questions--finally!--so many of us had, we still don't have answers to most of them. What's more, we have more questions, we have harder questions – questions that the next two or three presidents are going to have to grapple with, questions that our traditional media just won't be asking.

So here's a few things that I want to know. I want to know why, five years later, is the substance of all of Howard Dean's questions still unanswered?

What I want to know is that you will renounce preemptive war.

What I want to know is that you will get our troops out of Iraq before the end of your first term in office, without leaving permanent bases.

What I want to know is that you will make finding Osama bin Laden and destroying al Qaeda the number one national security priority of your administration.

What I want to know is that you will take care of the men and women who gave their all for us in Iraq and Afghanistan, how you will end the shameful lack of funding, services, and treatment these brave men and women face when they come home, and how you will ensure they get the help that they not only need, but deserve.

What I want to know is that you will unequivocally renounce the use of torture and will agree to abide by the Geneva Conventions and international treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war.

What I want to know is how soon after you take office will Guantanamo be closed down.

What I want to know is that you will end the warrantless and illegal surveillance of American citizens by our intelligence agencies.

What I want to know is that you will hold any corporation that aided government in illegally spying on American citizens accountable to the rule of law.

What I want to know is that you will restore the position of the Attorney General as the chief law enforcement officer of the U.S. and not the chief lackey and fixer for executive wrong-doing.

What I want to know is that your Vice President will be subject to the rule of law, just like everyone else.

What I want to know is that you will respect Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

What I want to know is that you are going to break the stranglehold of dependence our country has on foreign oil.
Joan McCarter is a contributing editor of DailyKos.com and a researcher of Western politics

What I want to know is that you are going to undo the damage that has been done to our country's reputation abroad, and that you will undo the distrust and the disdain the American people have for their government.

What I want to know is that you see and understand just how massively off-track our country has gone, and that you have some idea about how to right it.

Ultimately, what I want to know is that you are capable of taking on the massive job that you are applying for. I want to know that you are smart enough, serious enough, and patriotic enough to do what is right, not what is easy.

I want to know that you will be willing to tell the American people what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear.

I want to know that you can be a leader.

I doubt that any of these questions will end up on the moderators' lists for tonight's debate, and that's a pity for us all. Don't get me wrong, the ultimate winner of the Democratic nomination is going to get not just my vote in November, but my commitment to his or her election as well. I'd just feel a lot better about giving it if this is what they were talking about.

Editor’s note: Joan McCarter's weekly blogs are part of a new feature on The Denver Post's PoliticsWest.com site called "Diary of a Mad Voter." The group blog, published in partnership with NewWest.Net/Politics [4], is intended to give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of several independent-minded voters and thinkers in the Rocky Mountain West in the '08 election cycle. Check back regularly at www.politicswest.com [5] for "Diary of a Mad Voter."