Dumbing Down the Debates

The debate last Friday between John McCain and Barack Obama was hyped so highly in the days preceding that I felt the debate was going to not only determine the next President but also help end poverty, find a cure for cancer, and eliminate America's 12 trillion dollar debt. Unfortunately, the 98 minutes of debate past and all of these issues were left unsettled. While this ending was truthfully not that unpredictable, I think there is a larger issue surrounding the debate that NEEDS to be settled both before the election in November and in the forseeable future.

First, I was very confused by much of what went on in the debate. While that fact can pretty easily be dismissed as I really do not know that much about politics and my attention was not in full gear late on a Friday night after a long week. However, the problem is, how much am I representative of a normal American in that sense? How much of America truly understands the issues that the Presidential candidates are debating? Even if 65 million Americans watched the debates, many of those millions likely lost focus or did not understand much of the debate? That leaves around 250 million Americans without the necessary information needed to form an opinion on their potential presidents. I know not all of America votes, but how much of that is a result of a lack of education and lack of an ability to understand the confusing and tricky political process.

America needs to find a way to convey the gigantic importance of these debates and eventually the presidential election. It is our duty in the democracy we live in to vote. Unfortunately, this message often falls on deaf ears in America. If each campaign somehow found a way to "dumb down" the debates or their campaigns for less politically educated or knowledable Americans, maybe this problem could be remedied to an extent. Maybe instead of consistently ripping on the opposing party as a means of gaining votes, Obama and McCain could explain their goals and promises to America in more simple terms. Wouldn't this show that the candidates truly wanted to reach out to blue-collar Americans as opposed to letting people know that Palin hunts Moose? Think about that before this Thursday's vice-presidential debate, which I'm sure will turn into Palin-fest.

Go Cubs!!! Game 1-Wednesday