Loading ...This review was cross-posted from GoPoli.com, with additional commentary.
The Democratic debate on CNN tonight was entertaining and informative. However, I still think that the fundamental flaws of the format are:
- Too Many Questions
- Unequal Time Per Candidate
- Lack of Rebuttal Time
The 1-minute responses simply encourage more sound-bite politics. Also, I think the candidates need to begin to chip away at the Republican opposition. This will be one of the ways the Democratic candidates show whether or not they deserve the nomination to confront the Republican nominee.
A very good philosophical question came from a Baptist minister from North Carolina who asked John Edwards why it was ok to use religion to justify discriminating against homosexuals. The minister’s point was that religion had been used to justify slavery, oppression of women, and other things which we now know to be wrong.
One of the more “fun” moments was the closing question where each candidate was asked to give one positive and one negative about the person to their left. The best joke was when Representative Kucinich pointed out that no one was to his left and Anderson Cooper said, I don’t think we could find someone more left (paraphrase). It was hilarious.
I think Anderson Cooper did a much better job than Wolf Blitzer. He seemed a bit more fair about time allotment, and was better about making the candidates stick to the time constraints. I also like that CNN teamed up with YouTube to give ordinary Americans a chance to speak out. Anyone who tries that now is just a copy-cat. I’m glad CNN took a leadership role instead of trying to always be like Fox News.
One thing I do find curious though is the fact that in both debates so far the Democrats go first, followed by the Republicans. The lead debate should be rotated between parties because it gives whichever party follows the ability to hone their message and their responses. If something didn’t work out too well for a Democrat, the Republicans can be sure to avoid it. Additionally, it gives them an opportunity to make comments and snipe at the Dems.
Overall, it was fun and interesting. I look forward to the Republican debate.
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Thank you to our friends at Real Clear Politics for adding this article to their REAL CLEAR BLOGS – Tuesday Morning Edition roundup -
MemeOrandum has a fantastic blogger roundup on this event — check it out
Thanks also to our good friend Pamela Leavey of The Democratic Daily for linking in -
I absolutely loved the debate and the format. For once the questions were real and from real people with real issues.
In past debates I have not really trusted the canned questions and canned responses. Those formats seemed to provide a “Me too!” reply. This debate showed some clear differences with the candidates and that makes the voters the real winner of the debate.
Matthew, I agree. The old way of doing debates means the candidates already know the questions and have prepared responses. I always hated that. I think real questions from average Americans will be the best way to conduct debates from here on out. It will also allow for tougher questions since the moderators in the past never asked tough questions.
Democratic Convention Party Political Local Advertising Presidential Campaigns » Blog Archive » Late Night on the Dem Debate // Jul 25, 2007 at 12:45 PM
[...] more in the blogosphere at Connecting The Dots, The Gun Toting Liberal, The Pollster, Open Left, and Morra Aarons (Kerry ‘04 campaign) chimes in on BlogHer. [...]
Just read that Tom Cole wants the candidates to participate as well. It seems that even Republicans are frustrated that other Republicans are so timid about the debate.
Anyways, Garling Gauge has a cute take on it
http://garlinggauge.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/tom-cole-urges-gop-candidates-to-youtube-with-snowmen/