Are the Debates Cockfights?
Dear Belladonna Rogers,
I get nervous on the days leading up to the Republican debates. During the debates, I’m in a state of emotional turmoil. I have high blood pressure, for which I take medication, but it doesn’t prevent me from getting jittery and frazzled watching the debates.
I think what causes me to get upset is that I don’t like shouting, goading, or “gotcha” moments. I was in the debate club in high school and ours were nothing like these. These just strike me as mean-spirited shouting matches.
I’ll vote for the Republican candidate, whoever he or she is.
I’m a 70-year-old former Democrat woman, and my former Democrat husband of 45 years encourages me not to watch since the debates upset me so much. Is it my civic duty to see every one? What is your view?
Nervous Wreck in Nebraska
Dear Nervous Wreck,
No, it’s not your duty to do something that makes you as anxious as watching the Republican debates, especially since the effort serves no useful purpose.
These so-called debates may evoke feelings in you comparable to those produced by watching a cockfight:
If you had written that it makes you anxious to drive to babysit for your grandchildren, I might have offered a different response, since that presumably serves an important purpose in the lives of your family members.
But why should you endure the stress of watching yet another debate? The fact is that whoever “wins” any particular debate may or may not be the Republican candidate a year from now. Anyway, the debates — like cockfights — are judged on who lost the most prestige — or plumage.
If you vote in your state’s Republican primary, it is a good idea to educate yourself on the candidates’ positions, but there are many ways of doing so without subjecting yourself to the shouting matches the debates have become.
WATCHING PEOPLE ARGUE IS STRESSFUL, AS IS WATCHING A COCKFIGHT
Although many can watch a debate coolly without emotional involvement, for others it can be stressful. Some people are better equipped than others to extract content from what they hear while remaining unaffected by the anger and nastiness of the delivery.
There are those who actively enjoy a variety of contests of belligerence and bellicosity: boxing, wrestling, bullfighting, dogfighting and cockfighting, to name just a few. Modern televised political debates, unlike the real debates in the golden era of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, have deteriorated into a combination of these five sports.
Many viewers find the attacks during the debates as agonizing as the screech of chalk on the blackboards of our minds.
Watching this gives new meaning to the expression “getting in your face”:
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM THE DEBATES SO FAR
Much that can be gleaned from watching the debates is already clear. Governor Mitt Romney seems to have entered the latest one thinking it was a coronation rather than a competition.
One moment in the Las Vegas debate was worth seeing: the demolition of Romney as Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected. When Governor Rick Perry rattled his cage by mentioning illegal aliens mowing his vast lawns, Romney’s ill-concealed contempt for the Texas governor soared into overdrive, revealing just how condescending, nasty, and obnoxious Romney can be. Calling for help from Anderson Cooper, of all people, made Romney seem like a helpless child looking to his father or his older brother — and he has one, six years older, G. Scott Romney — to intervene in a schoolyard fracas.
Where will Anderson or Scott be if Romney has to face down North Korea’s “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong-il, or Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Romney then made a statement that was a major blunder, saying he told his lawn-mowing contractor that he, Romney, couldn’t hire a company that employed illegal aliens because he was running for public office. Wrong. The reason should have been because it’s illegal, not because he can’t do it as a candidate for office, implying he’d have had no problem breaking the law if only it weren’t for the inconvenient truth that he wants to be president. Interesting how the truth comes out, particularly under stress.
If a perfectly fair question from a fellow Republican about his lawn service can infuriate Romney to this extent, how will he ever deal with Democrats, or America’s enemies abroad?
Not that most people don’t get resentful when their shortcomings are pointed out, but Romney behaved inappropriately when he invaded Perry’s space by placing his hand on Perry’s shoulder. Romney’s unpersuasive Mr. Nice Guy mask dropped to the Las Vegas floor with a mighty clang, leaving him standing there — self-righteous, frazzled, and vainglorious — for all to see.
The American president must work well with Congress as well as with foreign leaders, and Romney’s testiness, rich kid hauteur, and thin skin won’t help in either arena. His Gore-like sighs and fake smiles whenever RomneyCare or his other policy lapses are criticized don’t help his cause, either.
When he’s disparaged by others onstage, Romney stares at the speaker with what he imagines is a saintly, patient smile as if he’s exuding serenity as he manfully endures the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. On the contrary, the irritating facial expression that he thinks looks like a benign smile in fact reveals his utter intolerance of anyone who dares to mention his failures. Bad sign. Obama-like.
In a transparent bid to pander to Jewish voters, Romney’s Las Vegas presentation included telling Herman Cain that he, Cain, had a lot of chutzpah — Yiddish for nerve or gall. But Romney, whose circle doesn’t appear to include anyone who actually uses the word, mispronounced and mangled it, not a good thing when you’re trying to pander — and pandering itself isn’t a good thing, either. Brings back memories of Slick Willie.
Here’s a song that sums up how Romney comes across to many voters:
These debates in essence are meaningless, in that all the gotcha moments and flubs will be forgotten in the weeks and moths ahead.
What we desperately need is a candidate who is a) not afraid to openly and passionately espouse CONSERVATIVE ideas and ideals, so that the public can see the stark contrast between us and the leftist Dems and b) not afraid to openly and passionately attack Obama for the destruction of our economy and our standing in the world.
Perry, Cain, Bachmann, Santorum and especially Gingrich are more than up to the task and if elected will at least start the processing of stopping the growth of the Federal leviathan and hopefully taking an axe to it.
Mitt RINOmney will not; he believes in AGW, he was the architect of Obama National Health, he is in favor of amnesty for illegals – he is a statist who believes that big government is the solution to all of life’s problems. If he is elected all he will do is slow the pace of growth and delay the destruction of America as we know it. Huntsman is Charlie Crist without the spray-on caramel cancer tan and Ron Paul is a crackpot.
All this said, whomever is the candidate will get my vote. But I will do everything I can NOW to ensure that the Republican Party Establishment does not choose our candidate. WE MUST HAVE A CONSERVATIVE, and Mitt ain’t it.
If Romney gets the nomination, WE WILL EMIGRATE.
GOP: Reject Mitt Romney or LOSE EVERYTHING
In all seriousness, if you really did emigrate, where would you go? I think about it, myself, but don’t know where. Canada is too cold and has a deadly national health insurance plan. Mexico? No way. Europe? No way. UK? Terrible national health plan. Singapore? At least things are orderly, but what if I littered, by accident? Six months in jail. Couldn’t afford Japan, and don’t speak the language. And so it goes.
I love how your articles become also an excuse to listen good music
Best one: Santorum, the hound dog. LOL!
Thanks! Enjoyed a few laughs from your analysis. Haven’t seen any of the debates so it was a painless way to get an interesting perspective on what’s transpired. (I find the tension of watching them as just so–tense.)
I chime in on gch21′s coattails as I too have not seen any debates and enjoyed this article as an entertaining way to catch up.
But I definitely do not think the debates are meaningless. Look how the royal clothing has fallen from Romney’s body. He might now be classed as the GOP’s version of Al Gore. Yechhh.
And it is true that we can get a lot of non-verbal information about the debaters on TV. It’s all valuable.
But these are not “debates”—you are right in mentioning the Lincoln-Douglas debates as setting a standard that our present day candidates, all of them, are not capable of reaching, much less striving for.
I agree. The debates are very revealing. They are pressure cookers. One glaring misstep can seriously damage your campaign. A good debate will not help you all that much. There is more downside than upside, but one cannot afford to skip them, either.
So, they create an environment where we can see candidates under pressure. Romney with his hostility towards Perry, and Gingrich with his “Mickey Mouse gotcha questions” hostility towards Wallace, those moments were ineluctable.
Real business is done face-to-face, because you need to size up the other person. Body language reveals an awful lot about what the other guy is really thinking and is really like. The debates are invaluable tools in the hiring process. They are interviews, basically.
Belladonna, I must not know you as well as I thought I did–thought for sure that the calm and centered person would be Newt Gingrich.
I can’t resist asking you to take a look at Buddy Roemer–especially LISTEN to one of his youtube or other recordsings of speeches, interviews. Now that’s CLASS!!
My political journey is from Republican until 2000–voted for Bush, to non voting, to Obama, to Roemer (because he’s NOT like any other Republican) and where I’ll go in 2012 is still optional. You need to go read this article by Mike Lofgren to understand my actions: http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779
But to react to your blog, I know ALL Newt’s flaws–I consider him a flip version of Bill Clinton. Knowledge of history, very well educated in history (a requirement of mine), vision/ideas, can speak whole grammatical paragraphs of analysis off the top of his head (I like that). They both have it all plus tremendous ambition. And they’re both not very good gambles for marriage. BUT both capable (if they can manage their flaws) of being great presidents.
As to Cain, he is lacking in a lot of knowledge areas BUT I have a feeling, if by some fluke he did get elected president, he’d govern a bit like Harry Truman. He doesn’t have the pomposity and such that the others have (including Bachmann–she is unreal in her self-regard) and KNOWS what he doesn’t know.
Best Republicans do with what they’ve got right now is Gingrich/Cain ticket.
Better would be Buddy Roemer — he could save that party from itself (rotten to the core as that Lofgren article says) and probably the only candidate (including Grigrich/Cain unless they renounce their vote on Ryan Budget Bill) who can beat Obama.
The Cain-Clinton video exchange is incredible..What a find!
As to this: “If you vote in your state’s Republican primary, it is a good idea to educate yourself on the candidates’ positions, but there are many ways of doing so without subjecting yourself to the shouting matches the debates have become.”
I’d argue the nature of the questions and the format make it more difficult to ascertain the candidates’ positions. It’s a game to see who’s better prepared to handle out of left field and gotcha merde with polished meaningless tap dancing.
In any event there are lots of bloggers–Althouse, Vodkapundit, Jane Woodworth over at Just One Minute you do an excellent job of blogging the debates and reading them will save you lots of time and spare you agita.
Meeeyow! Is that you, Mitt?
LOL! Excellent rejoinder.
**Should be WHO DO an excellent job**
But wait, there is this! http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/10/lincoln-douglas-debate-newt-gingrich-herman-cain-/1 A “Lincoln-Douglas type debate” between Cain and Gingrich, hosted by a Tea Party group. Now THAT would be worth watching!
It makes no difference who wins because this country died way back in ’63 with Kennedy. We have been going downhill since then and it is way to late to stop. Today all politicians ask not what they can do for their country but what can this country do for me and my agenda.
I think I will pop some popcorn and read this, and watch the videos here. It sounds way more entertaining, and yet still accurate, than watching the debates, and spoiling good popcorn.
what funny, sharp musical choices.
What? Are you jealous of her ability to put together a fun and effective article?
Will Cain apologize for Hiroshima? Will Cain kowtow to Hu? Will Cain bow to the Saudi king? Will Cain toast the Queen using God Save the Queen as background music? No, no, no, no. Good enough foreign policy for me.
I stand behind my previous statements and furthermore-the
comments section reflects the “less than average” grasp of reality
one gets from this misbegotten attempt at writing something meaningful.
Curmudgeon.
Perhaps in time the so-called Dark Ages will be thought of as including our own.
Georg C. Lichtenberg
To grow wiser means to learn to know better and better the faults to which this instrument with which we feel and judge can be subject.Georg C. Lichtenberg
The “debates” were not debates. The were a platform for the MSM talking heads to look important. I saw C-Span’s coverage in Ohio on Saturday where 5 of the 7, or is it 9, stood up and gave their presentations for a meaningful length of time and then answered questions in full, (not sound bites), from 2 men who were running the thing. I learned more in that 2 hours about the 5 than I have in all the “debates” so far. I will not bother to watch any more of these media “shows”.
I agree that these are not debates but a time for “gotcha” moments by the talking heads who daily forgive obama and Biteme for all their idiot moments. I would rather have the candidates each alone in a room to answer every question without the others present. Then the answers could be put on YouTube for the people to compare. I find it stressful that all candidates don’t get to answer all questions and that most of the debate questions are directed towards Romney and Perry with Cain a distant third. I would appreciate hearing more from Bachmann, Santorun and Newt.
The debates, are making the candidates look like children. I do not want my President to be an apologist, or look trite, or look like Romney.
“By the way, Bobbcat,
what’s your opinion of these “comments” on this article?”
To my mind they are reflective of people’s frustration with the neverending attempts by the MSM to manipulate public opinion, not to mention the usual goal of doing what they consider to be necessary to make as much money as possible. This article does an exemplary job of bringing attention to just how intense this manipulation has become.
With regard to this article & why one of its nature is found on PJM, I think it’s safe to say that their goal here is to entertain as well as inform.
“intense manipulation” and youare frustrated yet entertained…
What I am learning is “I feel dirty”. Bathtime.
Boy, you don’t like anybody do you? You remind me of my ex-wife. What a twit.
Of course they all have some problems. But our only choice should be who is strongest in ability to beat BHO. And it is stupid to complain about them.
Hey CharlesC,
You are:
1. a nasty piece of work;
2. a snob, and yet you insist on mingling with us who have less than average grasp of reality. Why do you keep coming back to the comments section to spew venom?
3. If you had something constructive to say, undoubtedly it would pain you to say it.
4. Why don’t you go back into your dark cave or hole and give yourself a few lashes.
Perhaps CharlesC has not figured out yet that the world, to some degree, is what you make it. Instead, he seems to want to mold it into something it cannot be; of course, this is impossible. And it makes him angry……
I like the article- Belladonna Rogers found facts I am entirely too lazy to find on my own- Mitt Romney has an older brother- that makes sense of the rest of the campaign season.
I’ve drunk the Perry Koolaid b/c I live in Perry’s state. I don’t really have to worry too much about what the government is up to, here. I would say I don’t worry too much about mad anarchists- except one has already bombed Perry’s house- the governor’s mansion- which is entirely irritating- it’s ours, we paid for it, in Texas- not theirs.
Most everyone we know has jobs, except the very disorganized, poor and ill- our house backs up to a section 8 housing block- and you know what? The kids do just fine in school- they can read, which is better, apparently, than chicago, detroit, massachusetts….every kid learns the heroic story of Texas- even the illegal immigrants kids learn to be proud of Texas. They say, every morning, the Pledge of the United States, the Texas pledge, the school pledge, and then they have a minute of silence. That’s four different stand up straight and look ahead moments, before their school day even begins.
I’m looking forward to a Perry presidency. I’m just taking the debates as a horrible sideshow carney deal we do- about like watching the candidates in a dunking booth at the state fair.
Thanks, ari. In fact, Mitt Romney is the youngest of four children — first two older sisters, then came the brother, and then, six years later, Willard Mitt Romney. Romney was named for his father’s best friend, J. (for John) Willard Marriott, the founding father of the Marriott Hotel empire.
Apparently Mitt didn’t want to be known as “Willard,” and so he even dropped the “W.” lest anyone ask what it stands for.
My favorite thus far unasked debate question would be for Romney: “Why don’t you want to be called Willard?” It would be fascinating to see how he responds, especially after his taking after Perry for just asking about his lawn service.
From now on, I think I’ll refer to him as Willard M. Romney. It is, after all, his name.
Isn’t Willard the name of a geriatric weather forecaster?
Is that the name of that big whale? in the two movies?
so who’s the talk show queen who will talk about birth order? and get Romney off the political stage, and onto her couch, crying like a little girl, b/c the older sibs got to the best part of the turkey at Thanksgiving? I’ve got three kids- it’s a real complaint. You can’t tell me they served a six- legged turkey.
Perry, Perry, Perry. We could go back to giving awesome White House gifts that everybody likes- like elaborately designed cowboy boots. Everybody loves those. Or cowboy hats. Karl May is still big in Germany. I bet Angela Merkel would love a great big cow-girl hat. The queen likes hats. She might even like a cowgirl hat if we put enough feathers around the brim. The wills and harrys seem to like ranches and African wild-life. We’ve got it! In Texas- b/c ranchers are crazy, and like to grow weird stuff. So they could get all their African wildlife and hunting needs taken care of, in a place that really believes in air-conditioning! That would be way more diplomatically successful than stupid little mp3 players loaded up with boring speeches.
Nice piece, enjoyed the tape with Heman Cain and then President Clinton (also shows a few things – Cain knew what he was doing – and after Clinton got into it, he realized he was over-matched and ducked out of it – I am equally sure that Clinton never followed up.)
Generally I agree with your analysis – the best people behind the lecterns during these debates so far have been Hermain Cain and Newt Gingrich. My vote so far goes to Herman Cain – the more I find out about the guy, the more I am impressed.
One of the lines in this piece I found amusing – “What Cain lacks in detailed knowledge of foreign policy, he can learn with a carefully selected group of experienced foreign policy authorities. It’s not rocket science.”
Why did I find this amusing? Because if I recall correctly – Cain has some experience at being a rocket scientist.
I have not watched one debate. There has not been one decent one in my lifetime. Just one more time, I would love to vote without holding my nose, and that would be for Herman Cain, an honest and trustworthy man.