Political debate, or audition?
Sam Chenkin
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Ed-Op
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The public doesn't even want to see substance; they want to see how well their future politician can dance in front of a camera.
Hillary and Obama both dropped the ball last night, but that shouldn't change my opinion of them as candidates. Their performance at this circus doesn't have any real impact on how they might perform as presidents. Television and The Hunt For Sound-bites has removed any chance for them to give us real opinions without being humiliated.
This is certainly the fault of the media, who pushes and shoves until they hear something they can run with. Nuanced answers aren't sought, and are usually seen as nothing more than an evasion. And to be honest, I'm not sure the American public wants anything more than that. Can the people deal with more than red meat politics? Can we understand that while Hillary doesn't like the plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, she may see it as a possible solution for a difficult problem? Do we care? Is the lack of any real substance, especially in these "debates," more our fault than the media's?
Hillary and Obama both dropped the ball last night, but that shouldn't change my opinion of them as candidates. Their performance at this circus doesn't have any real impact on how they might perform as presidents. Television and The Hunt For Sound-bites has removed any chance for them to give us real opinions without being humiliated.
This is certainly the fault of the media, who pushes and shoves until they hear something they can run with. Nuanced answers aren't sought, and are usually seen as nothing more than an evasion. And to be honest, I'm not sure the American public wants anything more than that. Can the people deal with more than red meat politics? Can we understand that while Hillary doesn't like the plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, she may see it as a possible solution for a difficult problem? Do we care? Is the lack of any real substance, especially in these "debates," more our fault than the media's?
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