FIRST THINGS FIRST: Watching seven political candidates “debate” is sort of like seeing the crew of Star Wars: Episode VII perform Waiting for Godot.
Like Godot, Samuel Beckett’s famed two-man play, political debates are most worthwhile as mano-a-mano affairs — think Lincoln-Douglas, Kennedy-Nixon, or Donald Trump vs. himself.
By that measure, last week’s UCSB-student-sponsored affair for candidates seeking the congressional seat of retiring Representative Lois Capps, which featured four Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent, was a trifle overpopulated. In a race likely to be shaped by TV ads and perfidious mailers, however, it was a rare opportunity to see the field in person, talking issues and rationales for their candidacies.