Debate Is The Cure
Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
-Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), letter to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, July 18, 1864
“Stop lying about my record,” the candidates lament. Too many personal attacks and the ubiquitous attacks on candidates buying elections are the cries of our presidential candidates. These all could be remedied by more informal debates. In the world of modern technogical advances where you can communicate by email, phones and television coupled with the 24-hour news cycle; we ostensibly have the ability to know more about the candidates than we would want, yet there is a substance deficit.
Commentators and journalists attempt to fill this void with hard hitting questions about a candidates positions, but they fall short due to the acceptance of non answers or their fear of being too tough on one candidate while soft on another. The remedy for this is a debate series like a WWE battle royal or a prizefight. These would be unscripted, loosely regulated contests by an informed moderator that does not suffer from egomania or come off as an absolute partisan hack–Chris Matthews need not apply. What comes to mind is the Sarkozy/Royal Debate last summer for the French election to replace Jacques Chirac.
They would be at least two to three hours and for those who think this wouldn’t be entertaining then you haven’t watched the unscripted moments during the more formal debates. There is no better way to learn about a person’s position than hearing the candidate advocate while being challenged. The question is not if this would work, but if the candidates would agree to them or more precisely, would the handlers and the political party structure agree. It is somewhat like the Emperor’s New Clothes—will they be the Emperor in his birthday suit or the little boy stating the truth?
The recent barring of Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter from Fox News’ New Hampshire debate drove even the most ardent Paul or Hunter critics to express absolute outrage at their absence. America has fostered a growing free market in news and for once, the anti-corporate crowd along with the traditional crowd will have a shared issue; access to the candidates and their desire for entertainment. How can we have an asocial shrew (Iowa’s Nurse Ratchet) dictate access to our leaders? The legacy and spirit of the Lincoln/ Douglas Debates are alive and well; it just needs a dose of the modern day sports sense. Lastly, if candidates are truly upset about their records being distorted, negativity or money, then I say get in the in ring and let the truth set you free from the shackles of slander!
