Alternatives to the Crappy "Debates"

Why do they call the mindless Q&A sessions among candidates on TV “debates”? These guys aren’t debating one another; they’re mostly just throwing up slogans and talking points. Half the time, they don’t even address the questions from the reporters. I don’t think I would learn anything useful from the “debates” even if I actually watched them, which I quit doing some time ago. There have got to be better ways to get to the candidates’ positions and values. I have a few ideas myself.

Let’s have candidates go on the Actor’s Studio and be interviewed by the professor. They’d intersperse clips of old speeches and political oeuvre and get the candidates to open up about their philosophy of politicking and their methods. Politicians are, after all, just like actors. They pretend to be statesmen and give largely scripted utterances. Those who can do improvisational material well are much admired but rare.

Let’s have the candidates live together in a house with cameras everywhere and see how they interact. You can learn a lot about people from their day to day dealings with others, especially their rivals. We’ll find out pretty quickly who is the biggest douchebag. We’ll give them tests of leadership and see how they do. One week, a candidate will be responsible for putting on a fashion show. The next week, another will have to cater a wedding reception. Let’s see how they handle these tasks before we entrust them with the fate of the world.

I think we would learn more from a program of “Dancing With the Candidates” than we do from the “debates”.

Let’s have the candidates sit in on panel discussions with former presidents and high officials from the US and abroad and run through various scenarios. Then we’ll have the panelists critique them and question them.

Let’s have the candidates go on the show “Thank God You’re Here” only with actors improvising a crisis of some kind and calling on the candidate for leadership. The candidate won’t know what the scenario will be until he walks onto the set.

The possibilities are endless: “Candidates’ Cribs”, “Amazing Presidential Race”, “Candidates’ Fear Factor”, and so on. Every single one of these ideas would be more useful to the electorate than the “debates”.