In America we believe in redemption.  In politics we believe in second lives.  So we’re not yet ready to declare the Des Moines Register/Iowa Public Television’s debate-hosting skills as lousy as CNN’s, because they have a chance to improve today with the Democrats.

Still, with set-ups from moderator Carolyn Washburn, editor of the Des Moines Register, like these …

• “Do you agree our country’s financial situation creates a security risk? And why or why not?  We’re going to just go down the line, starting with Mayor Giuliani. And please limit your answers on this to 30 seconds.”
• “We do need to stay at 30 seconds. This is not the time to get behind.”
• “I want to dig into the budget issue a little bit more. You’ll have 30 seconds to answer this next question.”
• “15 seconds or so: Who in this country is paying more than a fair share of taxes relative to everyone else — the wealthy, the middle class, the poor or corporations?”
• “I will offer up to 30 seconds of rebuttal time for any candidate criticized by name.”
• “Periodically throughout the debate we’ll give each of the candidates 30 seconds to make a free statement.”
• “Want to come back to some issues that affect the economy. You’ll have 30 seconds again. The longer you go on, the shorter we’ll have to go. Thirty seconds to answer these questions.”
• “I need you to keep your remarks to 30 seconds.”
• “We’re going to talk about New Year’s resolutions. You have 15 seconds.”

… we don’t hold out much hope.  Will they do better today? We’ll set the Jack Bauer stopwatch right now and say you have one second to answer.  And no shows of hands.  Just feet.

We recently wrote in Politico about the Jack Bauer moment — how nearly every debate includes some cameo mention of the “24″ action hero character.

Last night’s CNN/YouTube debate did not disappoint.

Here’s John McCain admonishing Mitt Romney over waterboarding:

Well, then you would have to advocate that we withdraw from the Geneva Conventions, which were for the treatment of people who were held prisoners, whether they be illegal combatants or regular prisoners of war. Because it’s clear the definition of torture. It’s in violation of laws we have passed.

And again, I would hope that we would understand, my friends, that life is not “24″ and Jack Bauer.

Life may not be Jack Bauer.  But debates certainly are.

And a postscript — we’ll believe this is the first time an Axis leader has made a debate appereance — John McCain admonishing Ron Paul over Iraq:

We allowed Hitler to come to power with that kind of attitude of isolationism and appeasement.

Jack Bauer would never have let that happen.

Why would anyone write this in Politico?

Call it the Jack Bauer moment.

It’s the moment in nearly every presidential candidate debate when the moderator asks the question that would please Jack Bauer. That is, if the “24″ action hero would get off his cell phone long enough to pay attention to the campaign.

Find out by clicking here.

Blli Clinton says on “Meet the Press”:

“There’s a one in a million chance that you might be alone somewhere and you’re Jack Bauer on ‘24′ — that’s the Jack Bauer example, right? It happens every season with Jack Bauer, but in the real world, it doesn’t happen very much.”

One in a million — sound familiar?

If so, you’re surely remembering the May South Carolina Republican debate.

Here’s Brit Hume:

“The questions in this round will be premised on a fictional, but we think plausible scenario involving terrorism and the response to it. Here is the premise: Three shopping centers near major U.S. cities have been hit by suicide bombers. Hundreds are dead, thousands injured. A fourth attack has been averted when the attackers were captured off the Florida coast and taken to Guantanamo Bay, where they are being questioned. U.S. intelligence believes that another larger attack is planned and could come at any time.  First question to you, Senator McCain. How aggressively would you interrogate those being held at Guantanamo Bay for information about where the next attack might be?”

And here’s McCain’s response: “If I knew for sure that they had that kind of information, I, as the president of the United States, would take that responsibility. That is a million-to-one scenario.”

What’s with all this million-to-one stuff?  Clearly neither McCain nor Clinton appreciate what “24” has been teaching us.  It happens all the time in Los Angeles.  Like, every hour.

When crooked former President Logan’s artery was stabbed open during last night’s “24″ episode, it brought home a stark truth: Not since Helen Thomas entered the White House press briefing room has the Presidency been under this much assault.

A few episodes ago — two hours in Jack Bauer time — current President Palmer was blown to smithereens, surviving of course.  That’s after last season the other President Palmer was shot and killed by a koala bear, if I remember correctly.

In real life battles, White House staff need A-list super lawyers.  In “24,” they just need Kevlar.

Fun item in the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire blog by Ben Winograd:

Fans of the Fox show “24″ may have noticed a subtle historical reference in Monday’s episode sure to fuel the ongoing debate over the program’s stance toward the real U.S. government’s conduct since 9/11.
For those unfamiliar with this season’s plot, U.S. cities have suffered a series of attacks over the previous three months orchestrated by a character named Abu Fayed. A nuclear bomb went off outside Los Angeles in a prior episode, and Fayed plans to detonate four more.
Hoping to head off the attacks, the president’s chief of staff has pushed for an executive order suspending habeas corpus and expanding a series of detention centers for Muslim residents. The president has resisted issuing such a decree, which he last night referred to as “Executive Order 1066.”
Though not identical, the name might remind some of Executive Order 9066, which President Franklin Roosevelt issued in February 1942. The measure led to the internment of nearly 120,000 residents of Japanese ancestry, mostly U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court blessed the tactic in the early 1940s, but the U.S. government apologized for the practice in the 1980s.

Interesting theory.  My two cents: I thought 24’s mention of 1066 was a reference to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which lead to the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England, and thus an allegory about weak defense.  Even in hindsight, though, it’s tough to tell whether William, Duke of Normandy, can be classified as an evil-doer.

Marion Barry, who’s had his share of brushes with the law, gets off a good line in today’s Examiner Yeas and Nays column:

Just when we thought Anacostia might finally have a bright future, we find out that the government has a Guantanamo-like facility there?
Yes, fans of the hit Fox show “24” may have noticed that during Monday’s episode, the president of the United States’ sister, Sandra Palmer (played by Regina King), and her boyfriend, Walid Al-Rezani (played by Harry Lennix), who’s with the Islamic American Alliance, are sent to “one of our provisional facilities” (says a presidential aide) after Palmer deleted personnel files sought by the FBI.
What does Council Member Marion Barry, who represents Anacostia, think of the prospect of an Anacostia-based detainment facility?
“There’s nothing funny or entertaining about such a scenario,” he told Yeas & Nays. “We’re not that much in need of development that we would tolerate something like that.”

By the way, the Extreme Mortman family watched that scene a few times on video, and was struck by how sunny and nice the weather was at the Anacostia detention facility.  Couldn’t find a palm tree, but the shrubbery looked very Southern Cal.

In “24’s” view of the world, terrorists are obsessed with Los Angeles.  They live there, they plot there, and they nuke there.  Good thing Jack Bauer calls Hollywood home.

So imagine our thrill to spot this item in Inside Cable News, which links to this Fort Worth Star-Telegram report:

John Cornyn is a U.S. senator, and he plays one on TV.
Yep, the Texas lawmaker and former judge — who, with his snow-white hair and judicial manner, has been called a central-casting version of a politician — taped a mock promo piece for the popular television thriller 24 on the Fox network.
In the spot, which was broadcast Friday on Fox News Live, Cornyn appears to endorse the show, of which he is a fan.
“Here in Congress, protecting the American people and winning the war on terror is our No. 1 priority. But has anyone also noticed there have been no terrorist attacks in the United States since Jack Bauer has appeared on television? … Think about it. And join me in watching this season of 24.”
Brian Walsh, Cornyn’s press aide in Washington, said that the senator enjoyed showing off his lighthearted side but that he’s not going Hollywood.
“It was a one-time thing,” Walsh said.

Maybe after Jack Bauer stops coddling terrorists and murdering patriotic American CTU specialists, he’ll take a much-needed sabbatical … in Texas.  Hey, don’t mess with Texas — or Jack Bauer.

The Sunday Washington Post is particularly gruesome.Go to the Outlook section and you that Tom Ricks runs this photo.

Then, in the Arts section, Tom Shales reviews HBO’S “Rome” with a picture of a severed head being held by the bloody hands of the executioners.

Yuck. The photo’s too disgusting to share with you on this family blog, but here’s what Shales writes:

Heads roll, literally. Antony tosses one into the trash during a visit to Vorenus

Hopefully next Sunday’s Post will be a bit easier to stomach. Perhaps cooler — and attached — heads will prevail.

UPDATE: An alert reader points out this third decapitation story from Sunday’s Post: “N.C. Man Arrested in D.C. After Daughter, 4, Is Beheaded.”

Let’s just be glad that Sunday, Bloody Sunday is over.  The only one happy with Sunday’s Post must be Jack Bauer.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire:

The coolest gizmo in the new White House Situation Room? A device that can sense if a visitor is carrying a cellphone.