My Facebook recently popped up a memory of the last Vice Presidential debate, where I was commenting how, in the first 20 minute or so, between the two of them, they had actually answered half of one question. And that was me being generous with the term “Answered”. No matter what the question was, they’d just go off and talk about something completely different. And not even in a clever way of “pivoting”, just not even acknowledging the point of the question. Like, you’d ask about fiscal policy, and they’d start off, “Well, if Antifa is allowed to burn down cities, why can’t we restrict abortion?”
I can’t remember anything remotely close. Certainly a fair bit of jostling for position in the huge primary debates for either side, but in the actual presidential debates you’d mostly get a lot of silent vamping for the camera. Knowing shakes of the head, quiet laughter, pointed notetaking, that sort of thing.
Or when literally any question would be asked and the first thing they’d say is “I’m going to start out by replying to what he said during the previous time” or “HOW COME HE GOT MORE TIME THAN ME” (he didn’t).
“Now I’m not saying you’re not smart; those things aren’t easy to tie.”. (on Tucker Carlson’s bow tie affectation).
Tucker went from being vamping asshat to full-on Joseph Goebbels imitator. I guess it has paid off for him, as he has managed to outlast pretty much everybody else at Fox News. A pity what he’s done to the rest of the country, but then suckers are for the taking, amirite?
Stranger
As is, candidates do not have to think on their feet so much, minimizing their opportunities for gaffes, while relying on well-rehearsed talking points. Indeed, the whole point of the debates is NOT to better inform the electorate, but to show off mainstream candidates in the best possible light and to keep non-mainstream party candidates out of the public’s sight.
This is hardly an independent, nonpartisan body dedicated to the best interests of the electorate. It is in their interest – as well as the candidates and their parties - to keep voters as ignorant as possible. “Respected” moderators add a veneer of repute to their cause, and a convenient target if things do not go well for a candidate.
Dead mics are going to make a candidate look bad, and hence, are bad for the CPD’s business.
I’m just saying, if you keep making overly-penetrating observations like that, you’re going to get lynched. Nobody likes a party-pooper, especially one that they can’t refute.
Stranger
I sometimes wonder if Stewart lies awakes at night, thinking, “Man, I was right there next to him, why didn’t I strangle him to death with his own bow tie?”
Stranger
Political debates with a moderator barely work, to say nothing of debates without. For one thing, politicians are gradually becoming less and less opponents, and more and more enemies. Perhaps at least half of the debate participants are themselves against the principle of debates.
A more mechanistic system, where each candidate was in an isolated booth with camera and mic disabled during the other’s time, would probably be a big improvement. Having a moderator who acts like a decent and polite human being, trying to shut down a politician who acts like the opposite, has stopped working.
I think a good metaphor for the role of the moderator is that of a law enforcement officer during a fight or attack. Reason and appeal to decorum haven’t been effective for some time now.
I seriously doubt very many of the current right wing cheerleaders actually have the integrity of the Typical Hydra Member, such that they’d willingly die for their cause.
All the more reason to just can them. They don’t help the rational candidate, while pandering to the worst excesses of the irrational candidate. They’re actually of negative value to society at this point.
They may not be willing to die for the cause but they don’t seem to have much resistance to prostrate themselves before the high priests:
On second though, I think Lindsay Graham might literally castrate himself with a dull letter opener to appease Trump, so death isn’t much of a stretch:
Stranger
Can you imagine Trump just shutting up if his mic was cut off? Draw a curtain on him and he walks around it-remember how he refused to stay in one place when Clinton was talking?
IIRC he did during the second debate with Biden. But like the Clinton debate, I fully expected him to wander around the stage when it wasn’t his turn and constantly end up in the background when the camera was on Biden. Someone, somehow, got through to him before the debate and managed to get him to, more or less, behave himself for a few hours. Maybe they promised him they would drive through McDonalds on the way home and get an ice cream cone if he acted like a big boy for a few hours.