Every four years,
the American public makes a decision that will, for better or worse, have
worldwide repercussions throughout the subsequent four years. This decision is,
of course, the presidential election. The process is one that can seem
very drawn out at times, with seemingly countless different steps along the way
in nominating candidates to run for a party’s position, voting for the
individuals to represent each party, and then the race amongst the party
representatives. One of the aspects during the election procedure that can seem
to never really go away is the constant barrage of candidate debates. Recently
however, these have been abused and turned into a stage upon which, both
rightfully and wrongfully, candidates are being deemed serious contenders or
unfit for the duty of leading a nation.
When
the presidential candidate debates were first introduced, their intention was
to give the American public both a view of the candidates on a more intimate
level and how they carried themselves, as well as to provide a way of getting direct
answers to the tough, controversial questions that the public wanted to hear,
straight from the candidate’s mouths. While this is still a part of today’s
candidate debates, the media has sunk it’s teeth into the very roots of the
debate and it’s purpose, and the process has started to lean more towards an
entertainment session than a political situation. One article on the Daily Beast stated this idea
fittingly in saying “The focus of today's primary debates emphasizes entertainment and
eyeballs…. It’s all about network branding, talent promotion, and ratings, not
a better democratic process.”
The 2012 Republican
Party Presidential Primary is a current example of this notion of having
debates that are losing some of their meaning. The previously mentioned Daily
Beast article went on to point out another flaw in the way that the media has
turned these debates into a platform to showcase the most visually appealing
candidate, and throw the less than camera-savvy ones under the bus. It stated
that “the
unemployment rate [in America had] ticked up to 9.1 percent, Europe’s financial
crisis worsened, and Iran talked of testing a nuclear bomb, but the candidates
for president of the United States were asked ‘Dancing With the Stars or
American Idol? Spicy or mild? Elvis or Johnny Cash?’” These kinds of questions
are sadly commonplace in today’s debates, and their answers are dissected, and
in some cases turned around and misinterpreted, creating facades and false
reputations. Mark McKinnon put it nicely in his article
when he said that “…there are too many debates, and we have lost the focus on
what the candidates' vision for America is... It's evolved into making
mistakes... [T]hat's not what debates are supposed to be about…” Personally, I
feel that these debates are a great tool if used how they were originally
intended, and in the future, we as Americans need to do just that.
I completely agree with you that the presidential debates have lost a lot of what they stood for in years past. The debates should be a chance for the public to see and hear the presidential candidates and where they stand on certain topics. Though the presidential debates may start out with the candidates talking about helping the people and what they will do to help the economy, they turn in to a banter filled attack on each of the candidates trying to sway the public vote to not vote for the other candidate for all the negative things that can be said about them. Instead they should focus on telling the public about the good things that make them a great presidential candidate and trying to get votes that way. Something needs to change about the presidential debates and soon.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more and I also believe that Plato would have agreed also. Although Plato's solution was terrible, he had a good point. Ordinary people who don't care about the political side of the debates are going to side with the person that looks the best on camera and is strong in public speaking. What the debates are doing is just allowing this to continue. If the debates aren't serious and the candidates themselves are only there to bash each other, we are going to see a down fall of competent leaders running for office. The debates need to get serious again and so do the American people who are choosing our leaders. The debates are meant for the people to see who is best qualified for the job and not who has the best personality. I would rather have a rude competent leader than a 'charmer' who doesn't know a thing about the office. Great job on getting the word out there.
ReplyDeleteAs the two previous comments have stated, I couldn't agree with you more Britt. The video showed to us in class was a perfect example of what you are saying here. The American public is fixed on these debates which, in almost all regards, have phased into almost reality-TV like quality. The meaningless questions asked to the candidates do nothing to educate the public on their views on important issues. The public is probably not far away from losing sight completely as to what the candidate's platforms actually are and instead, voting for the one whose Saturday night activity they would be most likely to do themselves. I'm a big fan of using cheesy quotes so I'll end with this one which I think has at least some bearing on the current election situation, "check yourself before you wreck yourself," America.
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