THE DEBATE

We all saw it, we all had a favorite, we all chose a winner.

We're all wrong.

The winner of last night's debate was the Commission On Presidential Debates, their revised format, and the calm insistence of moderator Kristen Welker.

Trump gained ground, Biden held his own, and we, the audience, finally saw and heard some intelligent dialogue on issues of substance.

If the truth be known these are media events masquerading as debates. In a real debate, a single subject is chosen with two opposing sides, affirmative and negative, and a chairperson who enforces the rules.

Student handout 8.2: Rules for debating

Ok, I get it, these media events serve a purpose, they give us an opportunity to see and hear our candidate perform under pressure which, after all, is a primary requirement of the POTUS. The pressure of a TV produced media event is not the same as political reality. Some candidates are skilled TV actors while others are skilled politicians.

The notion of using the word politician in the pejorative sense is ridiculous. Politics is a profession, and politicians are the practitioners. We love those who argue and maneuver for our position and disdain those who don't. Either way, we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, Democracy requires debate and debate requires politicians.

If you think our politicians are useless, consider the two houses of the British Parliament and the rules of order at the Palace Of Westminster, their lack of decorum makes our Congress seem gentile by comparison.

So let's stop denigrating our politicians, welcome to the swamp Mr. President.

Comments

WAKE UP AMERICA

Wake up to the crushing wave of new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths raging across America with abandon. Be honest, we, none of us, are taking this 2nd and more deadly wave of COVID-19 as seriously as we did in March. It was then that we scrambled for home delivery services, that we self-quarantined, that we stopped church, sports, concerts, movies, bars, restaurants, and in-store shopping. The pandemic slowed and almost stopped in places like NY, NJ, and CT. We stopped seeing our Doctor, delayed elective surgery, testing, and hospital visits. We discovered the ease and efficiency of online shopping and Zoom for family facetime. In a word, we changed our lives to preserve our physical health at the expense of our financial health. Now, what, we're entering the critical winter season when flu hits its peak, the forecast for new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are staggering and we're barely emerging from an economic recession if not a depression. The question rema...

LEAD~MOTIVATE~INSPIRE, THAT'S WHAT A LEADER DOES

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT We're frightened because of COVID and the economy, fair enough, but consider history. The Great Depression and the 2nd World War didn't cause more death than the pandemic, they caused more fear. The difference is, in the 1930s and '40s we had a leader that told us in a calm, reassuring voice that "we had nothing to fear but fear itself. " Fear is a crippling emotion, it causes indecision and panic during times of peril when what we need is leadership that reassures us. Remember when your kids woke up in the middle of the night with nightmares, they were scared to death. What did you do, you held them in your arms and whispered calmly that it was alright, they were safe and had nothing to fear. FDR was the nation's parent he knew that we needed reassurance that we needed that calm, strong voice leading us through a crisis. I honestly believe Joe Biden is that voice and t...

HE WON~WHY?

I read the news, I heard the news, I couldn't believe the news. Joe Biden, Barack O'Bama's Vice President, the Senator from Delaware, the Scranton kid from PA, the politico with 40 years of experience, the guy with friends in Congress, lots of friends, friends on both sides of the aisle, the guy who never gives up, never stops trying, never deserts his friends, that's why he has so many. The guy who never fails to take responsibility for his mistakes or fails to give credit for his successes. The guy who believes in science, respects the medical profession, and knows that climate change is threatening the planet. The guy who knows that without defeating COVID-19 we'll never rebuild a robust economy. The guy who married a Ph.D. educator who is dedicated to both, his career and her own. Yep, that Joe Biden, the one who has been elected President of the United States with the largest and most diverse plurality in history, over seventy-four million Americans voted for ...

Search This Blog