Even though he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting nominated, former senator Mike Gravel sure is entertaining. He spent much of the debate talking about the need to legalize drugs, and he kept at it in the spin room. Most of the reporters were talking with other candidates or their representatives, allowing for a more intimate conversation with Gravel and perhaps one or two other people at a time. Gravel lambasted the war on drugs, saying it's insane that a person can't get a prescription to buy cocaine. When asked if drugs should be taxed heavily, he disagreed, saying that he doesn't have to pay taxes for the painkillers he uses for his leg pain, so why should someone have to pay tax if they want to buy some drugs?

It sure is fascinating watching someone who has absolutely nothing to lose. :-) -andy

The post-debate spin room is in full swing right now. Four of the candidates who participated tonight - Dodd, Kucinich, Richardson and Gravel - are mingling with reporters, taking questions and posing for photograph. Biden has apparently left the campus, and I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case with Clinton, Obama and Edwards - we'll see. In their stead they have proxies taking questions for them - folks like Cornell West, Vernon Jordan and Reverend Al Sharpton.

I've managed to talk with all four candidates about Internet policy, mostly the digital divide. Senator Gravel spontaneously erupted in support of net neutrality, while Richardson focused more on creating math and science academies. I shot video of all of their responses, so I'll have to put together something with it later. -andy

While they didn't discuss the digital divide during the presidential debate as I had hoped, I managed to put some questions to four of the candidates in the spin room. Most of them didn't give me much more than a sound bite, but it was still interesting. Bill Richardson probably had the broadest perspective on the subject, while Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich focused on ubiquitous broadband and laptops for kids. Mike Gravel offered some terse comments on keeping the Internet free and putting computers in our classrooms.

I've posted an article about what they said on my PBS blog. I'll also put together a video of their comments soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to ask the Republican candidates about the digital divide at the next PBS debate, which will take place at the end of September. -andy