Should Obama Debate Palin?

On Friday, political commentators were riveted by a rare moment of unscripted debate between the president and House Republicans. They wanted more. So what's next? Sarah Palin? That's what The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne would like to see. "Let's have Obama do the same kind of session with the Senate Republicans. Then, let’s have him debate potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates, starting with Sarah Palin, and then, perhaps, Mitt Romney. I'm quite serious," he assures readers. "Tens of millions of Americans would turn on to politics again." That should please Time columnist Joe Klein. But would it work? Dionne thinks so:

The potential Republican candidates will accept, if only for the publicity and a chance to prove they can take on Obama. And no, ... no media moderator, no one keeping time, no one to give one of the participants a chance to hide ... This sort of discussion would be far more enlightening than the average run of televised politics. And it would serve as a reminder that the president is a politician, not a king. The opposition has a right to challenge him. The power of the leader in a democratic republic comes not from force but from persuasion. Let the Republicans step up and test Obama's ideas against theirs. It will be fun to watch, and good for the country.

So should Sarah Palin really be next?