The Falcon   |   Volume 83, Issue 53

Published 5/29/13   |   Log In

Editorial comment

Debates a worthy source of information

Published: October 24, 2012

Although the presidential debates can, at the best of times, appear to be the ugly and less entertaining cousin of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), they nonetheless are actually quite informative - once you get past the theatrics.

The presidential debates are arranged in such a way that the candidates are asked straightforward questions, and they have a certain amount of time to answer them. This is arranged in such a way that voters do not get positions hidden behind clever rhetoric of rallies, appealing to the emotion of voters. While not concentrating on the argumentation or the mannerisms of the candidates, the debates allow voters to see the facts.

While getting lost in the labyrinth of political debate among political scientists, journalists and the like, the facts about a candidate’s position appear to simply wander away from the conversation.

The presidential debates, however, allow voters to get a clear understanding of a candidate’s position on relevant issues straight from the horse’s mouth.

For example, in the second presidential debate, voters could clearly see that President Obama’s emphasis on education as a source of prospective job increase is of vital importance to him. Also in the second presidential debate, voters were able to understand Gov. Romney’s emphasis on investing in local oil and coal and the pipeline from Canada as energy sources. In comparison, voters were able to hear straight from Obama his perspective of emphasizing natural gas and clean energy at the expense of fossil fuels.

News coverage of political issues is often inefficient. You can watch for hours and learn little more than who’s leading the polls in Ohio or who committed some ultimately unimportant faux pas.

The debates have all happened, but replays are available online for those of us who missed them. Happy deciding!

The editorial comment is composed by the editor-in-chief, opinion editor and two other editors each quarter. Staff members responsible for the editorial occupy the top four slots in the staff box to the left. News and assistant news editors are never involved in composing the editorial comment.

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