We've heard the first of three 2012 Presidential TV debates between incumbent, President Barack Obama and challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. (Note: I wrote this debate night, but only now am finally re-publishing.)
The term "debate" is loosely applied in describing how these events are conducted, but this has been true since broadcasting these programs was first conceived many years ago. This time I listened only on the radio since I’m still engaged in my temporary experiment
of life without television. One significant positive without TV is that I'm not being subjected to negative Super Pac ads, and possible political use of 501C nonprofits ads.
Formulating a complete debate event impression is significantly disadvantaged without video to actually see the participant speakers and moderator. Listening only to a radio broadcast as I did, allowed me to hear the words, note the voice quality, tone, inflections, and formulate my sense of the participants emotions. I was deprived of seeing the body language and facial expressions -- both major perception influencing factors.
I lacked information derived from seeing an opponent’s
reaction to what the other speaker was saying. Also, I could not see nonverbal signals and actions of the moderator which could influence what I might think about his effort to control the proceeding, or a debater whose conduct failed to respect the standard participation rules.
Soon after the debate began I became acutely aware that PBS moderator, Jim Lehrer, whose broadcasting skills I respect, was losing control of this event. The shortcomings in this TV version of a debate format couldn't have been more obvious. Candidate abuse of time guideline
limitations is always an issue in these TV debates for which there is no penalty
if the speaker does not respect such rules, or respond to being told their time
is up. Once one candidate oversteps the
boundaries as happened at this debate's very beginning, the other rightfully feels they’re entitled to equal time. Maintaining and/or re-establishing program timeline direction can be adversely affected as was graphically demonstrated in this most recent debate.
Despite all this my personal opinion is that overall Mitt Romney left more of a positive impression in this TV debate than Barack Obama. That is not to say that candidate Romney "won" the debate, that his ideas were superior, or the information he provided was more factual, since some viewers might debate that matter.
Romney did briefly elaborate on some specifics, but continues to leave far too many unanswered questions about exactly how he'll make some changes he says he intends. Voters would be strongly encouraged before voting to verify the credibility of statements Romney has made. They would be wise to investigate whether his dollar numbers compute accurately, and actually make sense. Some of his logically sounding pronouncements are deceivingly simplistic because of significant factual omissions.
Much that
is known of a Romney administration plan is very troublesome, coupled with his positions on so many issues that have been all over
the map, so to speak, since he came into the political eye as a budding
Presidential candidate. Those inconsistencies should give many thinking voters serious reason for
concern – IF they’ve been
paying attention since he first came on the scene.
We know his policies are predicated on channeling funds to private sector entities, taxes, regulations, subsidies that protect corporate and individual wealth, such as his own, for investment purposes -- mostly under the guise of claiming this will benefit middle class Americans -- presumably this has always been the argument he and such supporters have long professed. Unless all the percentage figures and pie graphs I've seen for too many years are incorrect, these ethical, morally motivated, magnanimous, generous financial industry, corporate business leaders, politicians (not to be confused with statesmen,) and others, seem to be populated with a high percentage of individuals who've been strikingly unsuccessful in accomplishing their middle class re-birth goal by those means.
Whatever could have gone awry? The obvious answer is that greed has raped our capitalism. I've said for the past thirty years that capitalism has been running amok at an escalating rate and degree. We've reaped the consequences of this behavior for several reasons including: betrayal by some leaders and fellow citizens, collusion by others through honest sincere judgment errors and, finally, apathy -- especially egregious with too many voters. (Check the percentage of people who actually vote in all the elections in your community -- local to national, and not just the Presidential elections every four years.)
If that small percentage of citizens and corporations with the
most wealth among us truly care about prosperity for all, then they
should be willing to bear at least as equal a percentage share of the tax burden as
the rest of us. What is their justification for avoiding paying taxes
by using legal shenanigans, paying at a tax rate much lower than the
average American, or not at all, then hiding riches in non-taxable offshore accounts? That's not saving to invest in creating American jobs for a strong middle class -- as we're told is
the justification for some of these obscene tax rate differences. This whole tax matter is symbolic of Romney's attitude toward most Americans.
(I still think Romney's tax returns he so zealously refuses to release would reveal information voters would be wise to know before casting a ballot for him. We would see by what he has actually done tax-wise and with his wealth what he really believes -- revealing whose interests would be of primary focus from such a leader.)
President Obama is going to have to present his positions
much more clearly and forcefully in the remaining weeks before election day. He is going to have to be more concise with
facts and specifics reiterating how he will keep this nation on a road to financial
recovery through job creation.
I want to hear from him more stress on the means by which the nation's middle class numbers will grow in America. Plus I want descriptions of the measures that will protect those who may have need with reassurance he will resist efforts to eviscerate Social Security and Medicare, instead gradually adjusting these programs with reasoned care. His policies and plans are not without need for refinement on several matters. His re-election will not eliminate the fact there will continue to be specific issues requiring the public to forcefully make our expectations known to his administration and legislators as well especially in healthcare.
President Obama’s responses were often indirect to the issues his opponent raised, plus he needs to hone in with focused rebuttals which he did not do in too many instances. His
statements need to culminate with a transition to a verbally offensive position. (Easier
said than done.)
Frankly, I learned very little new from this debate, or much that I
didn’t already know about both candidates, but there are many issue fine points
about which we still need to be informed.
Of course, the reality is that many people have already
voted, others have made their choice, but will await voting until the
traditional November election day as I will do. So the candidates’
goals must be to convince potential voters who can still register in some
States to do so, then to vote.
Undecided
registered voters, and potential unmotivated voters must be stimulated to cast
their ballots.
(Voting on the Internet is now available in California, select other States, with varying degrees of ballot security. Computer scientists Douglas Jones and Barbara Simons have written "Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count" highly regarded for reading. Every tech machine vote must be verifiable Simon says, which to date can only be accomplished with a back up paper ballot. Simon cites Virginia as one State using some questionably secure voting machines (a system Pennsylvania rejected). Note that Virginia is also one of the States in which accuracy of ballots and totals is considered to be of special significance influencing the national election's outcome this year.)
I have great difficulty understanding why citizens
don’t vote. I’ve always believed voting
is every citizen’s responsibility for the privilege of living in our
republic/democracy – especially if we want to keep our nation from becoming an
autocracy, theocracy, plutocracy, or some
other undesirable form of government.
The very least we can do is to educate ourselves on the issues, candidates and vote – to preserve this nation’s government for our children, grandchildren
and future generations. Maybe then we also won't elect leaders whose judgement much too readily takes our nation to war, squandering our resources while neglecting our nation's infrastructure and handicapping the internal structural elements of our society.
I think voters with
passionate perspectives will vote but am concerned that others with more moderate views may be disenchanted with all government. Moderates have had their ideas and beliefs marginalized, even discounted, by a vocal few for too long. Disparate groups promoting a variety of extreme positions representing various minority issues have been allowed to exercise a disproportionate influence on congressional legislation, even preventing problem-solving actions – as witness
Congresses past four years failure to meaningfully address major challenges facing
this nation.
Those congresspersons have deliberately failed to act in good faith on behalf of most citizens. Then they tout what they characterize as a high-minded philosophical ideal to justify their inaction as a form of action. In reality, Romney's political party members have categorically said they were more interested in getting themselves elected into positions controlling this government than acting in a conciliatory manner respecting any others views than their own to resolve the problems this nation faces -- despite the fact at least half this nation's population does not agree with their ideas. Now they hypocritically complain about the state of our economic recovery, the national debt, the slowed rate of job creation, health care cost resolution efforts and actually have the gall to blame the entire situation on this current Administration.
Such repeated frustrating behaviors from these political party bullies may have resulted in fostering an apathetic attitude in many moderates and young people who
were previously interested in participating in the governing process through voting and/or service. These discouraged moderate-thinking sensible potential new leaders and voters may have become so disgusted with the distorted influence of those obstructionist groups, that some moderates
have been leaving Congress, other moderates among the public and young people are
choosing to not vote in this election.
This is a time when the nation most needs
the moderates support to prevent our country from being lead rapidly by a Romney administration toward becoming a plutocracy – government controlled
only by the wealthy. Even our Supreme
Court’s recent past years decisions have increasingly fostered our government’s trend in this
direction.
The challenge is to reach the individuals in these moderate groups of all ages, dispel their cynicism, incite their passion to support the election of President Obama and other national legislative candidates -- probably Democrats -- in order to break the obstructive stranglehold used to immobilize our government's more efficient functioning. Perhaps voters can elect more responsible moderates in both major political parties to Congress in the future.
The next debate will be between the Vice Presidential
candidates.
There will be two more
Presidential candidate debates in the weeks following with date and other specifics at this
Election Central site. I'll look forward to viewing the next
debates via live streaming video if available on the Internet for those
like myself without cable or satellite service.
