The so-called Presidential debates are not debates. They are televised group press conferences.
The so-called US Presidential debates are not debates. Going back to the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960, they are televised group press conferences. The American voting public would be better served by actual debates.
An actual debate would be over just one question, selected in advance. Candidates would be given time to speak their minds, and then to rebut what the other candidates said.
The role of the moderator would be to enforce debate rules. Any questions would be asked by the candidates of each other.
The press conference format measures the ability of the candidates to think on their feet and to memorize and remember information. A debate format would measure the depth and breadth of their thinking, and give an idea of what they would do if elected.
Such a format might not be commercial enough for the major networks, but I am sure PBS and C-SPAN would be willing to host a real debate.
Phil Ebersole's Blog 
November 10, 2015 at 4:44 pm |
As a former college debater and high school debate coach, I couldn’t agree more. I did think Rachel Maddow’s show the other night was an improvement over the “debates”.
LikeLike