A quick but serious plug for Green Mountain Daily’s online debate Monday at noon, between the two Democrats running for Lite Governor. Any debate between Tracy and Dunne — both smart, personable, and well-qualified — would be a must-watch.

But Odum has added a truly ingenious element to the live-chat format: each candidate will be closely monitored, on-site, to prevent prefabricated cut-and-pastes, the scourge of real-time chats.

And given the time limits, these parameters promise a whole new level of fascination for viewers.

That’s right: standard political verbal skills checked at the door. Suddenly the ability to riff and jawbone mean nothing.

Each man limited to keyboard, mouse, and balls of steel.

If you’ve ever found yourself watching a stock car race just on the off chance that someone might push it five miles an hour over the limit and go careening off the tarmac, shedding rubber and shooting flames, then this should be just your sort of thing.

Monday, noon. Aloha.