How appropriate that the most recent Democratic debate took place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. Not only are Obama and Clinton on the party ticket, they’re also up for the categories of “Best Actor Trying to Win a Leading Role,” and “Best Screenplay at an Oppositional Competition.”

After the Romney and McCain debacle at the Republican debate, and the past antagonistic relationship between Hillary and Barack, it seemed as though politics took a turn for the better as the two latter candidates remained civil and frighteningly supportive of each other last Thursday.

While Hillary once again fought back spurious tears (surely another way to gain more encouragement from Clinton followers), Barack appeared unusually gracious and smiled enchantingly toward his adversary on several occasions: “One of us will make history because one of us will become the president … I was friends with Hillary before the race and we’ll be friends afterward … We’re running because we love this country.” Really Obama? Laughable, coming from a man who knows that Hillary scrutinized him for his drug use and unhealthy living habits when he was younger.

And she wasn’t the only Clinton family member ganging up on Obama; Bill was also accused of making somewhat derogatory comments about the junior senator from Illinois. With an admired and successful ex-president on her side, Hillary seems to think her likeability fares on the same level as her husband’s. Naive as she may be, she dominated the debate, allowing Obama only a few words after each question. In an awkward attempt to show our nation that people from two seemingly different backgrounds could beat out the Republican Party altogether, Clinton and Obama truly proved themselves as aspiring actors.

After Obama’s rousing indications of the two’s faux-found love for each other, Hillary continued to pull out both the gender and race cards, repeating, “Just by looking at us, we are not more of the same,” a seemingly obvious observation that the American people needed to hear in order to believe.

It seemed as though civility and the true American spirit of trust were truly being brought back into politics. At this point, the candidates should know that the only thing more important than telling lies about what people want is having good temperament and respect for others, opponent or not. Respect is not only a thing to be expected, it also has to be given. In politics, courtesy counts, and you get more bees with honey.

The spirit of the coming election is looking bleak on both sides. With every nominee at each other’s throats — same party ticket or no — the competition seems ruthless and malicious. With candidates slowly dropping out of the race, the rally for new supporters is becoming critical and our prospective leaders’ true colors seem to be emerging. They may be better than Bush, but their dirty politics are getting in their way of winning over American confidence. Obama and Clinton might prove to be strong candidates individually, but it’s obvious that their acting skills, need some work. My question is, “Where’s Ross Perot this time around?”