I was surprised at the crowd watching the political debate Tuesday night at Loaded Joe’s in Avon.

I stepped in on my way home, already late so what the heck? Young Republicans (generally an oxymoron because the GOP’s all old, right?) were going at it with young Democrats (a repetitious redundancy because there’s no such thing as a mature Democrat).

But seriously, they put on a good show. It was a lot of fun. Three Dems lined up on bar stools on one side of the little stage, and three Republicans on the other. The MC in the middle kept things moving quickly.

I was impressed. Not so much with their command of facts and conclusions. It was a political debate, after all. But with their interest in discussing national and state issues in some depth, and especially with their good humor.

There was no rancor whatsoever across the party lines in this event. No stingers on partisan lines, and nothing personal to set tempers aflame. They had fun, they joked. They parried, sure, but it was all in good humor and taken that way.

My prevailing thought at the end was wouldn’t be great if their elders in each party could retain that spirit? The country would be in better hands.

Of course, they’ll all grow up, realize how heavy the stakes are between Democrats and Republicans, hone their edges to cut, take up long knives and get just as low and mean as their more senior partisans nationwide. I hope not, though.

We could use a new era free of post cards alleging vile things against even a county commissioner candidate, who thankfully won simply to show the folly of such campaigning locally.

I’d love to see the end of Swift Boating, reporting on forged documents as if true, lying about public servants in the other party, and generally exaggerating the hell out of every little thing that comes along for some real or imagined partisan advantage. Enough already. Kick out the fossils; bring in the fresh blood.

What I really liked about the little debate was the crowd, though. It was pretty much a full room of people listening and showing an interest in how their country and state are run.

I wasn’t impressed with the level of knowledge displayed, but one step at a time. And politics has never really been about command of the true facts, as a lawyer might put it. Still, the debaters were reasonably well spoken, and certainly bright and funny. So they did well.

Now, if the young citizenry could only understand at a younger age that local politics affects their daily lives a lot more, we’d get somewhere. I doubted even the debaters knew the names of Avon’s mayor or the three county commissioners. Never mind the stakes in pending developments, tax increases, social programs and all that.

Yes, one step at a time. This was a good one.

Don Rogers is responsible for the editorial oversight of the Vail Daily, Eagle Valley Enterprise and Vail Trail. He can be reached at 748-2920, or editor@vaildaily.com. Read his blog at www.vaildaily.com/section/BLOG