Comments on: Tonight’s Debate – Open Thread http://themoderatevoice.com/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/ An Internet hub with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, indies, centrists, moderates, and right Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:05:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: DLS http://themoderatevoice.com/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-92171 DLS Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:23:31 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/#comment-92171 Lynx is right on. YouTube and the Web are over-hyped gimmicks so far as this debate and other things are concerned. It's simply another medium from which to get the questions, no different than getting them from e-mail or "snail mail" or by cassette tape. The Web hype is stupid, and the questions are screened and the politicians will blather anyway. Don't forget that later one-on-one debates will involve legal wrangling and agreements not to ask other than mutually agreed questions. The best thing that happened as far as debates and changes to them was the "job interview" debate with Cheney and Lieberman, where of course the questions were selected and reviewed beforehand, but at least the format and selection of questions was something different and useful. Lynx is right on. YouTube and the Web are over-hyped gimmicks so far as this debate and other things are concerned. It’s simply another medium from which to get the questions, no different than getting them from e-mail or “snail mail” or by cassette tape. The Web hype is stupid, and the questions are screened and the politicians will blather anyway. Don’t forget that later one-on-one debates will involve legal wrangling and agreements not to ask other than mutually agreed questions.

The best thing that happened as far as debates and changes to them was the “job interview” debate with Cheney and Lieberman, where of course the questions were selected and reviewed beforehand, but at least the format and selection of questions was something different and useful.

]]> By: University Update - Barack Obama - Tonight’s Debate - Open Thread http://themoderatevoice.com/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-92005 University Update - Barack Obama - Tonight’s Debate - Open Thread Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:50:13 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/#comment-92005 [...] Clark Link to Article barack obama Tonight’s Debate - Open Thread » Posted at The Moderate Voice [...] [...] Clark Link to Article barack obama Tonight’s Debate – Open Thread » Posted at The Moderate Voice [...]

]]> By: Lynx http://themoderatevoice.com/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/comment-page-1/#comment-91989 Lynx Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:58:47 +0000 http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/14189/tonights-debate-open-thread/#comment-91989 Two things can easily make this no better than any other debate: 1. The questions are submitted by normal people, but vetted by CNN. Amongst the thousands of entries CNN can choose the same questions that are standard in any debate, not necessarily unexpected angles. 2. Any politician worth their salt is able to take ANY question and drive it, more or less smoothly, into their talking point. "I would like to ask the candidates how they intend to avoid massive bloodshed and genocide in the wake of a possible US withdrawal"--> "It is essential that we lend all our support to the legitimate government of Iraq in the daunting task of helping the nation recover from president Bush's failure, but we cannot continue to support a country unwilling to support itself...yadayadayada...keep America safe...yadayadayada...Bush is bad....yahdayadayada Thankyou" Two things can easily make this no better than any other debate:
1. The questions are submitted by normal people, but vetted by CNN. Amongst the thousands of entries CNN can choose the same questions that are standard in any debate, not necessarily unexpected angles.
2. Any politician worth their salt is able to take ANY question and drive it, more or less smoothly, into their talking point. “I would like to ask the candidates how they intend to avoid massive bloodshed and genocide in the wake of a possible US withdrawal”–> “It is essential that we lend all our support to the legitimate government of Iraq in the daunting task of helping the nation recover from president Bush’s failure, but we cannot continue to support a country unwilling to support itself…yadayadayada…keep America safe…yadayadayada…Bush is bad….yahdayadayada Thankyou”

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