An Appropriate Day for a Debate

It seems to me there is no more appropriate day for the Republicans' first female vice presidential nominee to participate in a nationally televised debate than October 2.

Today is the 139th birthday of Mohandas Gandhi, India's inspirational leader who led a non-violent movement to bring dignity and independence to all Indians, regardless of their status in India's caste system.

It can be honestly said that Gandhi inspired many movements in the 20th century, including women's suffrage in the United States. It is well known that Gandhi inspired Dr. Martin Luther King and the American civil rights movement as well.

And Gandhi was responsible for ending the practice of "untouchability" in Indian society.

I think it's fair to say that, without Gandhi's efforts nearly a century ago in a land half a world away, we might not have seen the candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — and Sarah Palin — in the United States in 2008.

At the time that the United States finally gave women the right to vote in 1920, Gandhi already had been organizing non-violent demonstrations against poverty and in favor of women's rights and religious and ethnic diversity for years.

For his efforts, Gandhi was known throughout India as "bapu," which means "father," in much the same way that George Washington is remembered as the "father" of America. He was also known by the more formal name of "mahatma," which means "great soul."

In less than five weeks, after 232 years of existence as a nation, the United States will elect either its first black president or its first female vice president.

Tonight, American voters will get a real opportunity to see the Republicans' female nominee for vice president in a debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Debates are a relatively recent development in presidential campaigns, but vice presidential debates in particular always seem to be breaking new ground.

• In 1976, Walter Mondale and Bob Dole met in the first-ever vice presidential debate (the running mates didn't hold a debate in 1960 — all the debates were between presidential nominees John Kennedy and Richard Nixon).


• In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to participate in a debate featuring major party nominees.


• In 1992, the first three-person vice presidential debate (which included independent presidential candidate Ross Perot's running mate Admiral James "Who am I? Why am I here?" Stockdale) was held.

And, in between, even debates that appeared to be less distinctive made headlines. In 1988, for example, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen told Sen. Dan Quayle he was "no Jack Kennedy."

But that's part of the give-and-take of political debates.

As Gandhi (and those who followed his example in the decades after his assassination in 1948) would tell you, this is not about a guarantee of success.

It's about being allowed to participate.

What Sarah Palin does with the opportunity has nothing to do with her gender.

It has everything to do with whether she's qualified for the job she seeks.