Virtual debates are just what the doctor ordered
The initial Kennedy-Nixon debate is often remembered as a watershed moment in American politics, and it was.
The first live televised debate between U.S. presidential candidar is recalled chiefly for Richard Nixon’s five o’clock shadow in contrast to John F. Kennedy’s more telegenic style. But several details are sometimes lost in time: There were a total of four debates not one; most journalists rated Vice President Nixon as the winner on substance; and, most instructive 60 years later, the third debate was not done with the candidates in the same room. Mr. Nixon was in Los Angeles, Senator Kennedy in New York on Oct. 13, 1960. The split-screen telecast (the second most-watched of the four contests) was handled this way not because of any health, economic or political crisis but simply for convenience during the campaign.
If presidential candidates could avail themselves of cutting edge technology back in the days of bulky black-and-white consoles and rabbit ears, they surely can go old school in the era of flat-screen high-definition, live-streaming and surround sound. And that should begin with the vice presidential debate now scheduled to take place in-person on Wednesday in Salt Lake City. As helpful as it may be to place the candidates 12 feet apart as the Commission on Presidential
Debates last week agreed to do, it’s stupefying that the candidates would be in the same studio at all. In case anyone missed it, President Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus and spent the weekend at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his condition serious enough to warrant some experimental treatments. On that basis alone, Vice President Pence should be in quarantine this week. And President Trump shouldn’t even be thinking of in-person appearances for his final two debates, Oct. 15 in Miami and Oct. 22 in Nashville.
Let’s set the record straight. It’s not fearfulness that causes Americans to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to avoid worsening the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s sound reasoning and respect for others. Mr. Pence should understand this most of all.
Enough is enough. Ignoring reasonable safety precautions like wearing a mask or keeping social distance doesn’t project leadership or even machismo, it’s just blatant foolhardiness.
The people running for the highest offices in the land must pitch in and set a good example. What worked in 1960 can work in 2020. Cancel the debates or do what worked just fine all those years ago: Let them square off in the virtual world.