Debate This

I haven’t really watched political debates for years. When they started up again in 1976 (on the presidential level), I was glued.

And in those days, you either watched or you didn’t—no YouTube, no highlight videos to be replayed over and over. I’m sure there are a few videotapes lying around in the basement with snips of recorded presidential debates. Michael Dukakis is probably in there. He has to be somewhere.

Eventually I saw them for what they are, though: tailgating for the political junkies, free TV time to try out attack lines, etc. I guess there’s some value in seeing how candidates respond under fire, but I suspect you’d have to have paid attention in school. Presidential candidates are aspirational by default and definition; they make promises and pledges, and those of us who have read Article II understand what this is about.

I wonder about the rest. It’s hard to understand, or hard for me. Warren and Sanders have this Medicare For All idea, for example. Biden and Buttigieg push back, call it overreach, demand answers on costs, etc.

I hear this and think, Yeah, you and what Congress? I understand that the candidates can pretend that they’ll have this ultimate power, as a rhetorical device, but I get the impression that a lot of people have no idea what they can and can’t do.

But for some reason I tuned in last night. I tried to watch for a few minutes, finally opting for audio only and reading a Twitter feed as I listened, which was entertaining. Otherwise, I wasn’t enlightened at all, since I’ve been following these people for a while. Bernie seemed fine. Biden seemed old and off. Pete was feisty, Amy was articulate if unpleasant, Kamala was just weird, and I found Beto kind of irritating.

Warren, meanwhile, is in her own league. She doesn’t make unforced errors, although that tends to come off as slick, a bit.

None of this is all that important to me, other than following the horse race. I’m not expecting to learn anything from glorified press conferences, and if I have some sort of civic obligation to pay attention, I think I’ve fulfilled my duty.