Do Presidential Debaters Need a Time Out?
Were Obama and Romney rude and disrespectful? Or were they just being forceful in the debate?
Mitt Romney and Barack Obama squared off in their second debate Tuesday night. This photo is from their first debate earlier this month.
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Who won Tuesday night's Presidential debate perhaps largely hinges on whether you are Barack Obama or Mitt Romney supporter.
But what of the interruptions, talking over the opponent and finger pointing? Or ignoring the time limits for offering responses? If these were your own kids, would you put up with this?
As I surveyed comments on Patch's live blog (click here to see the post and replay the discussion) and read comments on Facebook, there seems to be universal disgust and a lot of agreement that the second Presidential debate often lacked civility and good manners.
So, what's the solution. One friend suggested blowing an air horn when the debater gets out of line. Another suggested cutting off the power to their microphone when they exceed their time limits.
What do you think? How would you rein in disrespectful debating? Or would you? Take our poll and then explain your vote in the comments below.
Scott Carlson
3:26 pm on Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Give and take is fine. But the moderators need to be more aggressive to make sure the candidates stay on track.
Paul Lareau
12:15 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012
No, they do NOT need a time out! The public needs to see the candidates directly confronting each other on unsupportable statements, inconsistencies, and outright lies. Political debates that simply present talking points from their previous speeches do no good for undecided voters, or even those who have made up their minds. As for as the moderators go, I think she did a wonderful job in controlling two powerful, uncooperative, and moderator-disrespectful candidates. I really don't mind when two sports teams confront each other, but I do mind when they attack the referee. Sadly, the moderator doesn't have the power to eject anyone from the game, or put them in the penalty box.