Talking points for June 12

Our virginity debate is still simmering away on the blog.

Talking Points for 6 June

Thanks very much to Steve for being our night editor: lots of new ideas in there, including a discussion of secularism and the headscarf in Turkey, and whether PDAs (public displays of affection) by lesbians should be allowed.

Meanwhile our debate on vegetarianism is still raging, and it looks likely that we’ll dive in today and talk about it on air.

Should Hillary be Obama’s VP?

So Hillary and Barack have been holding talks…..could it be they’re putting together a joint ticket? Would it be a dream ticket?  Or is Barack Obama better off without her? What do you think John McCain would like to happen?

Should Florida and Michigan count?

Big wigs within the US Democratic Party will meet this weekend to decide whether the votes cast in the Florida and Michigan primaries will count in the race to the party’s Presidential nominee.  Many see it as Hillary Clinton’s last throw of the dice….is she right to chase these votes…surely if you lived in Florida or Michigan you would want your vote to count…. or is it unfair given that neither candidate campaigned in either state and Barack Obama’s name wasn’t even on the ballot in Michigan.

On air: Is Obama’s skin colour harming his presidential campaign?

It’s taken almost seven weeks, but Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has finally distanced himself from his former pastor after a couple of recent speeches. Rev Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor for 20 years, the man who married him and his wife and baptised his children, claimed back in March that the United States had brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own “terrorism” and the government had invented AIDS to kill black people.

Originally Senator Obama denounced his comments as “incendiary” and “completely inexcusable”, yesterday his tone changed, “They offend me. They rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced. And that’s what I’m doing very clearly and unequivocally today.” Here are a couple of blogs with their own views.

Should politicians apologise when they get it wrong?

How often is it you hear a seemingly heart felt apology froma politician?  How about this one earlier this month from American Congressman Geoff Davis of Kentucky. Admittedly what he had prevsiously said was generally thought to be out of line. But it is pretty rare to get an apology from a politican. Should our politicians be ready to hold their hands up and say sorry a little more often?

Should Obama and Clinton run together?

Hillary Clinton silenced some of the calls for her to pull out of the race for the Democratic nomination, for a while at least, by defeating Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary.

How can you just lose a trillion dollars? Where has it gone?

The International Monetary Fund said this week that losses from the global credit crunch could end up totalling a trillion dollars. But where does that money go? How on earth do you lose a trillion dollars? It’s not like just dropping your wallet on the bus? When one person loses surely another person gains?

Is it good for America to talk about race?

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama says race is an issue that America cannot ignore. Yesterday he made a speech that some would say was a political gamble, others believe he had little option. Obama sought to dispel the furore over inflammatory statements by his former pastor the Rev Jeremiah Wright, who criticised America for being racist and said the September the 11th attacks were revenge for American foreign policy.

Talking points for 19th March

Two weeks ago in Gaza there were celebrations that a gunman had infiltrated a Jewish seminary in West Jerusalem and killed eight people.  The Palestinian President condemned the attack, but according to a new poll an overwhelming majority of Palestinians support it and other acts of revenge against Israelis.