Title : I knew this was coming, and I'm expecting a lot more of this: "Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates."
link : I knew this was coming, and I'm expecting a lot more of this: "Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates."
I knew this was coming, and I'm expecting a lot more of this: "Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates."
That particular example is by Elizabeth Drew and appears in the NYT today. I haven't read this yet, but I anticipate that it will not admit to a motivation to shield Biden from a test of his mental acuity:The debates have never made sense as a test for presidential leadership. In fact, one could argue that they reward precisely the opposite of what we want in a president. When we were serious about the presidency, we wanted intelligence, thoughtfulness, knowledge, empathy and, to be sure, likability. It should also without saying, dignity....Ridiculous. How can you read that and not laugh? Not written out of any concern that Trump will do better than Biden?!
This, by the way, isn’t written out of any concern that Donald Trump will prevail over Joe Biden in the debates; Mr. Biden has done just fine in a long string of such contests. The point is that “winning” a debate, however assessed, should be irrelevant, as are the debates themselves....
I am truly disgusted by this effort help Biden avoid debating. I've been writing about this for a while. Back on June 25th, I showed you a WaPo column by Karen Tumulty, "It’s time to rethink the presidential debates" and I said I expected "a push to eliminate the debates."
On July 8, I wrote, "The effort to rescue Biden from the demand to debate continues apace." That was based on a Thomas Friedman column, "Biden Should Not Debate Trump Unless …/Here are two conditions the Democrat should set." I said "It's not an outright argument to keep Biden out of the debates, but that's where it's headed." And: "[W]e need to see Joe perform in real time, on his feet, intensely challenged. He cannot weasel out."
Drew's column goes into the well-known problems of the debates — scripted quips, attention to how people look and so forth. But what's the alternative? Biden isn't doing serious interviews! Drew says: "The better way to pay attention to and choose among the presidential candidates is to follow the long campaign that so many complain about." The "better way" — not the best way. The word "better" presupposes that there are only 2 alternatives — debates and the "campaign." What about sitting down for hour-long interviews with challenging interviewers and answering all their questions? That's what Trump did with Chris Wallace and Biden has declined to do!
ADDED: Here's a good comment at Drew's NYT column:
This is an interesting set of arguments for trying to keep Joe Biden's increasing mental incapacity hidden from view. He hasn't done "fine" in past debates. True, he managed to sort of "win" his debate against Paul Ryan in 2012, but only by endlessly interrupting and outshouting Ryan who, whatever else one says about him, is the epitome of Midwestern nice and polite. Biden's claims and statements didn't make particular sense, but they didn't have to. They succeeded in preventing Ryan from making his wonky pointsAFTERTHOUGHT: But think this through: If Biden's people know that it's quite true that if Biden debates Trump, the debate will sink Biden's campaign, then it's at least as true that Biden must not debate Trump. And take that one step further: If we know that Biden must debate Trump but he does not, then we should infer that Biden's people knew that Biden was in no condition to debate Trump. That's information that we should use when we vote: The Democratic Party is asking us to vote for a person who lacks the mental capacity to serve as President! And yet, you know as well as I do, that many people will argue that we should vote for him anyway!
But that was then, when Biden, while never particularly bright, had all his marbles. His public appearances and debate performances this year have made his failing cognitive function painfully apparent. He was down for the count before James Clyburn rescued him in South Carolina, and the pandemic has enabled him to hide for five months. But he will need to emerge before the election, and the public will get a clear picture of a man whose time has long passed. Trump may play P.T. Barnum, but Biden is not even up to playing Chauncey Gardiner.
Biden must debate Trump, and the debate will sink his campaign.
Thus articles I knew this was coming, and I'm expecting a lot more of this: "Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates."
that is all articles I knew this was coming, and I'm expecting a lot more of this: "Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates." This time, hopefully can provide benefits to all of you. Okay, see you in another article posting.
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