Irrespective of how well the individual Democratic candidates did in their first job audition before a select American audience (those who have cable and are enthusiastic enough about an election that is more than eighteen months away to devote ninety minutes of primetime TV time to the likes of Biden, Hillary, and that Gravely guy...), the debate largely failed to address one of the most costly and destructive wars in our nation's history.

Even as the candidates took turns condemning the war on Iraq, and stressed the need for the United States to withdraw from this conflict, the war on drugs was a non-issue.

Well, it almost was. If it weren't for an e-mailed question from an MSNBC viewer, Sen. Christopher Dodd would have never been prompted to suggest that the practice of drug testing individuals for social control purposes has gone too far.

Sen. Chris Dodd disagreed with the viewer's e-mailed suggestion that welfare recipients should be drug tested in order to receive compensation in the same manner that some employees are subjected to drug testing in order to keep a job. Sen. Dodd suggested in his response that there is too much drug testing going on.

And then there was former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, who one political blogger likened to that uncle who lives in the attic.

Gravel largely dismissed a question posed to him by Jennings on whether the United States lags behind European nations in its use of nuclear energy. Instead, Gravel asserted that: "we are mischaracterizing terrorism. Terrorism has been with civilization from the beginning and it will be there until the end. We will be as successful fighting terrorism as we are fighting drugs with the war. It doesn't work."

Well said. Too bad these perceptive words came from such a brash spokesperson.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a champion of the drug policy reform movement who most recently signed legislation that made New Mexico the 12th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, and the first state to provide limited immunity from drug possession charges when a witness or victim of a drug-related overdose calls 911 for help, subtlety managed to signal his concern about the growing problem of law enforcement encroaching upon doctor-patient relationships and prosecuting pain physicians. As part of his response to a question about his plans for implementing universal health care coverage, Richardson conveyed that he "would also make sure that we would re-establish the doctor-patient relationship."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, another candidate with a strong drug policy reform platform, made a strong case for his positions on war and foreign policy, but never highlighted his opposition to certain aspects of the war raging here at home. Similarly, Sen. Joe Biden, a noted drug policy extremist, had nothing to say about our nation's failed drug laws.

Read more general information about the debate.