The presidential and vice-presidential debates will be held in
October. While political observers and enthusiasts look forward to this,
many Americans view the debates as the bane of their existence.
Modern
political debates rely heavily on scripted questions and short buzz
clips designed to upset an opponent’s demeanor. Language and prose are
no longer important tools. It’s simply a matter of who can generate the
most meaningful attack for the evening news. That’s why people switch
the TV channel so often during presidential debates or don’t watch them
at all.
However, there’s a ray of hope. Last week, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced a major change to the debate format. According to Washington Times reporter David Hill,
“three of its four debates this October will include time blocks of as
long as 15 minutes during which candidates will debate a single topic.”
This is an exciting development because the new format hopefully will
encourage each presidential candidate to provide well-thought-out
answers to difficult questions. For the first time in a long time,
intellectual discourse will replace buzz clips at a presidential debate.
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2 comments:
Obama agreed to, then backed out of similar debates offered up by McCain. He won't take the chance of looking like a complete moron sans teleprompter.
Which candidate will know the questions before the debate?
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