That particular episode of Boston Public was very good. Part of the general theme of the show is that two best friends, one is democrat, the other republican discuss things. In general, the democrat (Alan Shore) makes the republican (Denny Crane - seen in this scene above) seem silly (the republican has mad cow / Alzheimer's) though he has never lost a case. This is just how the show leans and I can understand that most on this board wouldn't watch the show.
In this episode, however, or the previous one, the two are pitted against each other in the courtroom. The Alan takes the side of a town wanting to secede from the US, and Denny is outside council for the defense.
The case revolves around the fact that yes, the town knows it doesn't have a chance, but wants the suit to go forward just for the media exposure. The case hinges on the fact that the US has become a country unrecognizable.
The topics covered include habeus corpus / unlawful detainment, torture, spying on citizens, unpopular war, etc.. and the dialog was particularly balanced with the defense showing that over our 200 year history, we are currently doing nothing that hasn't been done before.
The argument is very much the difference between the country we want to have and the country we actually have.
I wouldn't be surprised if this episode received an emmy or something. It spoke more to bridging the gap between the two different perspectives than anything I've seen.
Oh, and for the record, Denny is still undefeated.
