Presidential Debate Formats
Oh, well, Palin didn't implode. But a well-rehearsed regurgitation of talking points may not help the Republicans so much, either. What this debate suggests to me is that the Commission on Presidential Debates, which organized it, is stuck somewhere back in the 1980s. Janet H. Brown, executive director of the Commission, is actually a very nice lady. I've had several long conversations with her about politics while we walked our dogs in a local park, though I haven't seen her around recently. My sense is that she structures these things on the presumption of goodwill on the part of the candidates, e.g., that they will try to answer questions asked of them. That's something Palin explicitly (brazenly) didn't do. To be fair to the audience the moderators should work harder to force the candidates out of their comfort zones — hopefully the final two debates will better dispel the boilerplate.
Posted by George Kenney on October 3, 2008 6:56 AM 
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Comments
Heya George.
Well last night I watched both the English Canadian Debate, and then the American one, which happened to be going on on the same night and at the same time, though there was no shortage of replays.
Juxtaposed as they were, the two could not have been more different. In Canada, we had what I think is the most exciting debate in decades for our country, with five leaders, including Elizabeth May from the Greens, sitting at a round table and talking to each other as well as Canadians. It was heated at times, somber at others, but full of serious and inspiring discussion.
In comparison, the lack of interaction between candidates or public and candidates in the American debate seemed removed from the reality of the campaign. Furthermore, with only two candidates present and with each expressing only slightly varying views, the conversation was far from inspiring for progressives. Without additional voices, the public can be fooled into thinking these two represent the whole debate, when in fact they are so close together in a much wider spectrum, that for many outside the US, their differences seem like semantics.
I don't know if you have time or interest in checking out the Canadian debates last night, but I suspect you would find the conversations, especially comments from the Green party very interesting even as a neighbour.
Looking forward to this week's show,
Take care,
Mike
Posted by: mike lenaghan | October 3, 2008 2:04 PM
Cynthia McKinney got the Green Party nomination — at last I have a candidate I can support!
Posted by: 8isis8
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October 4, 2008 7:53 AM