Moving Forward
Debates should be reformatted for the good of the election process
Many readers watched the debate Tuesday night between President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger former Vice President Joe Biden.
Others likely read about it or watched some commentary on TV or the Internet. Maybe listened to pundits on talk radio.
If you aren’t among them, don’t worry. There will be plenty of opportunity in the coming days as just about everyone on all sides of the political spectrum weighs in.
That’s why we won’t spend much time on what the candidates said. You can form your own opinions. No, we are more concerned about how best to move forward in the future. How to restore some dignity to a forum that has become more like televised wrestling than informative debate.
Whether you support the president or the challenger, we can’t imagine you were happy with either’s demeanor during the debate. If you haven’t already picked a candidate and tuned in to be informed, you may well be wondering if these two are the best the country has to offer.
We don’t know the answer, but when the debates come back around in the next election cycle, those in charge — the Commission on Presidential Debates — had better come up with something to contain the circus and keep the candidates on point. The commission announced Wednesday it is looking into modifications for the remaing 2020 debates. It will have four years before the 2024 round. Surely they can think of something.
We’ve seen a few suggestions on social media. Some think the candidates should be in soundproof booths, like the old game show “21,” and have their microphones shut off when they interrupt or speak past their allotted time.
Others have suggested a moderator — Samuel L. Jackson perhaps — with a tough guy image and language to match.
Both ideas sound good to us compared with what we saw last night.
Presidential candidate debates were once serious matters that gave Americans a chance to learn about and evaluate the contenders. Now? Not so much. But they could be again.