Where is Al Gore when you need him

Ok, no one needs a policy wonk, and Gore still is about the wonkiest. They put people to sleep. Unfortunately, I have a bit of Al Gore in me, or hopefully some Newt Gingrich. He was a little more lively than Gore.

The point of all that is that the media is not paying a lot of attention to the issues in this race. They treat it like a sporting event. In fact, they generally need to count your money or take a poll to know who is winning. Then they tell you the score. Too often the media example of fairness is to do a he said, he said routine. You have heard it all before. Quote Pombo, then quote an environmentalist. Quote Barbara Lee, then quote Pombo.

What they don't do often enough is to ask whether either is telling the truth, which one it might be or whether any of it makes any sense.

In the latest series of photo ops for Arnold, Lady Diane and Tricky Dicky Pombo, we hear about how much is needed to repair the levees. Well, here are some very basic questions that they (the politicians, or the media) are not answering, or even asking.

Is CalFed doing anything good for the citizens of California, or is Lady Diane's favorite project too hot to handle?

Is building more housing the best use for delta land?

What should be done about the natural functional of a flood plain.. conveying water down stream and replenishing ground water? We know Delta Tracts are sinking (technical term is subsidence for the policy wonks among you).

What will be the effect of Climate Change (can't call it global warming any more. too emotional)? What if the melting of the Antarctic Ice Shelves really raises the sea level by six meters (20 feet) as some scientists are suggeting?

Question for Pombo: How high should those levess be built? If you can't answer that one, then maybe you can move your family into one of the new, below sea level tracts just to show your confidence in it all working out OK and not ending up like New Orleans.

And, for a change on this list. I'll toss a kudo to Pombo if he gets the USS Iowa docked in Stockton. It should be great for emergency housing when the next big levee breaks.

Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting Policy issues put people to sleep and only Al Gore can talk about the Internet and "positive directional climate change."