Who needs presidential debates?
I rarely waste my time watching presidential debates. The reason I say “rarely” is that I have watched a few over the years for entertainment value, but a debate performance by any candidate won’t make a bit of difference in how I will cast my vote.
Besides, we’ve got many media outlets and pundits who will tell us who “won” the debate, so why shouldn’t I spend my time watching or reading something better? After all, there’s got to be something more educational or entertaining on those hundreds of other channels that we stream!
Televised presidential debates have been “a thing” since the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debates. Back then, John F. Kennedy walked away with a big advantage due to his dynamic performance and appearance versus Richard Nixon’s pale and unenthusiastic time at the podium, and Kennedy rode his performance to a very narrow victory in November. After 1960, there were no televised presidential debates until 1976, but they have been a regular feature since.
Millions of Americans still watch the debates. The record is held by the first Trump-Clinton debate in 2016, with 84 million viewers with the second Clinton-Dole debate in 1996 getting only 36.3 million.
The percentage of households actually watching the debates has dropped pretty dramatically. In 1960, about 90% of the homes with TVs watched the debate, while now only about 50% tune in.
It remains to be seen how many viewers the upcoming Biden-Trump debates will have. I’m betting the audience will be substantial, although the formal rules haven’t been worked out yet.
It’s pretty clear that Sleepy Joe’s campaign decided to debate Trump out of desperation due to some bad polling numbers, coupled with the crumbling attempts of Democrats to lock up the former president on numerous phony charges. The fact that seems to have escaped the Democrats is that the bad numbers for “The Big Guy” aren’t the result of poor marketing but are instead a reflection of the average voter’s realization that their lives are worse under Biden than they were under Trump.
Democrat strategist James Carville summed up this delusion when he lamented, “everything we throw against the wall is like spaghetti and won’t stick.” In other words, he was saying that “we need to find new ways to fool the voters because the usual ways aren’t working.”
From the outset, the debate rules as outlined by the Biden campaign heavily favor the Democrat, but that’s nothing new to Trump, since he has always had to take on the Democrat candidate plus the moderators in every debate to date. Biden insisted on no audience (since he’s not used to crowds), hosting by friendly networks like CNN and ABC, and liberal activists impersonating reporters like “Fake Jake” Tapper and Dana Bash being the moderators. Having those two networks host a debate between Biden and Trump is equivalent to a local radio station here hosting a debate between Doug Mastriano and an opponent, if Doug didn’t duck debating for once.
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Maybe some of you want to watch the debates in a group somewhere, so you may want to turn the occasion into a drinking game. Here are a few suggestions:
Every time Biden tells a lie, such as “inflation was 9% when I took office”, have a shot.
When “January 6th” is mentioned by the moderator or Joe Biden, take a shot.
When Biden says, “no lie” or “true story,” take a shot.
When Trump uses the words “fake news” or “rigged” take a shot.
When Biden says something incoherent, have a shot.
When Trump says, “big beautiful” or “Yuuuge,” take a shot.
When Biden mentions “democracy” take a shot.
When Jake Tapper asks Trump if he’ll accept the results of the 2024 election, chug a beer.
When the moderator fact checks Trump, take two shots.
When the moderator fact checks Biden … oh wait, that won’t happen!
At this point, I would suggest that whatever you’re drinking, make sure it is either of the low or non-alcohol variety, because if it isn’t you’ll be hammered after the first half hour or so. You’ve been warned!
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Will I watch the debates? Well maybe, but if I do, it won’t be to help me decide who I’m voting for on Nov. 5, because I’ve been paying attention to what my country has been going through for the last 3 ½ years.
In my opinion, anyone who bases their vote on a debate performance this year has either been living under a rock or has been in a coma since Jan. 20, 2021.
Dwight Weidman is a resident of Greene Township and is a graduate of Shepherd University. He is retired from the United States Department of Defense, where his career included assignments In Europe, Asia, and Central America. He has been in leadership roles for the Republican Party in two states, most recently serving two terms as Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1988, getting his first license in Germany, a past volunteer with both Navy and Army MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio Service, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor. In his spare time, he dabbles in genealogy and learning new languages.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Who needs presidential debates?
