2020 Debate

Debate or Debacle

I thought the debate would fill the front pages of the network news for at least a week. Then the President and First Lady tested positive for the virus, and the national media turned their attention to how irresponsible Trump has been by not wearing a mask and violating the social distancing guidelines. Before we consider this latest bombshell, however, there are a few observations I would like to discuss about the debate.

First, it was not really a debate at all. It was more of a free for all insult contest. It reminded me of school yard bullies trying to provoke each other into a fist fight. Both candidates would talk over both the moderator and his opponent and interrupt their comments. The next morning’s news coverage was too biased to have any value. According to the news, the President was the only one who diverted from proper debate decorum. They failed to mention that Biden interrupted about as much as Trump. They failed to mention that Biden was more into name calling than the President. Biden called Trump a “clown” several times and I lost track of the number of times he called him a “liar.” I may be antiquated, but being called a liar was grounds for a fight where I came from. Our President is rude, antagonistic, disrespectful, and I wish conservatives had a better candidate, but when his opponents get down in the mud with him, the news should treat him fairly.

Few points were actually debated. I liked the President’s answer to the question about the pending Supreme Court nominee better than Biden’s. He was in fact elected for four years, and it is his duty to fill vacancies on the court. Biden’s answer was hollow. Does anyone really think the Democrats would do it any different?

The moderator tried to get a discussion going about the President’s tax returns recently discovered by the New York Times. Trump’s response of “Fake News” was no help, and Biden’s attempt to compare Trump’s taxes to the average American was limp at best. No one mentioned the issue I think most important. Where did the New York Times get the information? Trump has never disclosed his tax returns and has never given permission to have them made public. What does this say about the average citizen’s right to privacy? If I were a small businessman, I would not want the media to give my private financial information to my competitors. Does the right to a free press take precedent over a citizen’s right to privacy? If I were to obtain and release privileged information about the President, I would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Why is the New York Times exempt?

The debate (actually the name calling contest) was a national embarrassment. It didn’t improve my opinion of either candidate. I wonder about the impact on our nation’s youth. American was on stage and the world was watching. I am not proud of what they saw. Trump was his normal crude self while Biden looked weak and almost sickly. I am uneasy about the next four years.

The debate is now old news, as the Corona Virus is back in the spotlight. It looks like The President has mild symptoms and will soon be back on the campaign trail. I overheard some concern about what would happen if he died this close to the election. The procedure makes sense if, and only if, we realize that our next present is elected by the Electoral College. It is probably a moot point, however, because Trump will quickly get better and declare COVID19 to be no big deal.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.