The Campaign Heats Up…

The 2008 presidential campaign is coming down to the wire.  People are on pins and needles and there has never – ever – been as strong of opinions as there are this year.  Why?  We’ll either have the very first black president or the very first woman vice-president.  Pretty big stuff, huh?

Yup.. And according to TV reports, every one agrees it is big news.  The political convention speeches had more viewers than THE OLYMPICS or American idol!  Can you believe it?  That many people watching boring speeches…incredible.  That in itself is history making. 

McCain is either brilliant or idiotic.  His choice of Sarah Palin did exactly what I believe his handlers wanted.  Took the Hillary supporters who half heartedly crossed to Obama and put them FIRMLY in the undecided group.  I know it did me.  I didn’t care for Obama or McCain.  Obama seemed the lesser of two evils. 

Then the Palin factor emerges.  And let’s be honest, Biden did nothing for the Obama ticket.  Half the country doesn’t even know who he is!  Palin – everyone knows her name now.   And let’s ignore issues here, because no matter how they beat it to death, politicians are politicians, change isn’t by one person, it’s by an army of advisors, Senators and Representatives.  One person can’t make that much change anyway in a democratic society.  Dictatorship – yes.  Democracy, no.

People are tired of seeing practiced, polished, spit-shined politicians giving well-rehearsed, bland words that mean nothing to them.  Sarah Palin changed that.  People don’t necessarily care about her experience – maybe that’s what makes her so appealing.  She isn’t a career politician like Hillary, Obama, McCain or Biden.  She is THE most in touch of anybody running for office.  The US people want to see her succeed because it gives them hope.  Heck, I could run for PTO President next year, the Township Supervisor the next year and be Governor of Michigan in 2012 when Granholm leaves office.  The 2016 White House ticket is calling my name….

How Presidential Debates SHOULD be Run

I think the current Presidential debate system is a joke.  Hardly anyone watches them, they are dull and nothing is answered.  The only time when people are interested in Presidential debates is when they get ugly (See Obama vs. Hilary last week).   American apathy toward politics is at an all time high…why?  The average voter doesn’t believe their voices are heard.  They believe politicians SAY what they think we want to hear in order to get elected.

To make the average voter seem like they really do matter, the debate format needs to be altered.  The one that was held where MySpace users could ask questions is what ALL the debate format should be like.    Right now, it is a joke.  Rehearsed questions, canned answers, blah blah blah.

 This is how debates should be set up for the average voter to want to tune in…Make it more like a game show…with obvious winners and losers at the end.  Who needs an electoral college anyway?

To make debates worth tuning in they should:

1 – Not practice questions (and answers).  Give off the cuff answers where we might get some honesty. 

Here’s an idea…Put up a big board with letters.  A candidate chooses a letter and gets the question behind it.  Question can be about anything – politics or not.  See, we’ll test their intellect too.

2 – Let the Presidential candidate choose their own wardrobe.  No consultant, no PC suit with a red tie… we might get someone who showed a bit of personality up there for once.

3 – Allow real, average voters to ask questions.

4 – Allow booing and clapping.

5 – Turn off microphones when the time limit is up.

6 – Have a moderator.  The moderator decides if the candidate actually answered the question they were given.  Negative points given for those who discuss around a question or issue. 

7 – Said moderator would also give points for good answers, extra points for those answered under the time limit. 

8 – Have a running total for points scored during debate, so they can compete with each other to shorten answers, answer questions and make it fun to watch them really scramble.

9 – Let Howie Mandel be the moderator.

What would the debates require for you to watch?

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