The Debate
The presidential debate will be starting a little while. I figure I might as well watch them, if nothing else, for the entertainment factor. Generally I can't stand watching Bush speak; something about him just really upsets me. And I don't like getting angry, it makes me rude and irritable and interferes with proper judgement.
The debates seem to carry some importance in the outcome of the election. It seems the appearance of the candidates makes a strong impression on the populace. Well at least the section of the populace that matters during the vote... which is actually a fairly small number. Because the vote is just reduced to a small number of swing states (and apparently the individual votes in other states don't matter), it's really a small percentage of the population that will determine the outcome of the election. It's sad that not more people participate in the election, but that's really a symptom of other problems rather than a problem in and of itself.
But back to the debates; they're really a total sham. No real issues will get proper discussion and the opponents will purely be posturing for position. Even the questions from the audience won't get to anything of substance. All the questions from the public had to be submitted for approval beforehand and anyone that tries to ask something other than an appropriate question will be cut off by the moderator (and, in all likelyhood, escorted out of the building).
It's no wonder that most Americans (and Canadians for that matter) have absolutely no inkling of the real issues and outcomes of international politics. When they go to this much trouble to make sure no one even mentions a taboo subject, the average person isn't going to know that the subject even exists, let alone that it needs serious examination and discussion. Again, things are a little better here in Canada, but not much.
The debates seem to carry some importance in the outcome of the election. It seems the appearance of the candidates makes a strong impression on the populace. Well at least the section of the populace that matters during the vote... which is actually a fairly small number. Because the vote is just reduced to a small number of swing states (and apparently the individual votes in other states don't matter), it's really a small percentage of the population that will determine the outcome of the election. It's sad that not more people participate in the election, but that's really a symptom of other problems rather than a problem in and of itself.
But back to the debates; they're really a total sham. No real issues will get proper discussion and the opponents will purely be posturing for position. Even the questions from the audience won't get to anything of substance. All the questions from the public had to be submitted for approval beforehand and anyone that tries to ask something other than an appropriate question will be cut off by the moderator (and, in all likelyhood, escorted out of the building).
It's no wonder that most Americans (and Canadians for that matter) have absolutely no inkling of the real issues and outcomes of international politics. When they go to this much trouble to make sure no one even mentions a taboo subject, the average person isn't going to know that the subject even exists, let alone that it needs serious examination and discussion. Again, things are a little better here in Canada, but not much.
posted by csguy314 at
9/30/2004 08:31:00 PM
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