Word: formats
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...think the combination of the format and the stakes made the candidates feel that they must make very simple points on very complicated issues. The real issue here is a philosophical one, and the President summed it up in a phrase, "Should we conduct policy from weakness?" That's too simple a way of putting it, but that is the essential point-whether one can negotiate better by making a series of unilateral moves, like giving up the MX, Bl, Strategic Defense Initiative [Star Wars], or whether one can negotiate better by continuing whatever programs are considered...
Does the present format produce insights or distortions...
...believe in these 20 things and Reagan believes in 17 of them and Mondale in 14, so Reagan wins 17-14.' We're trying to determine what kind of people they are as human beings, how they will respond in times of crisis." Debates in their present format, he concedes, are "by no means ideal" for facilitating that judgment, but "what other chance do we have to compare them side by side...
...remedied by staging more of them, perhaps four per campaign. That would lessen the crisis atmosphere, reduce the importance of a single miscue or devastating punch line ("There you go again") and-who knows?-perhaps even permit some real exploration of issues. Many experts also argue for changes in format. The leading suggestion is to have candidates question each other, with a moderator to enforce some rules. That would cut down on evasions, enable misstatements to be challenged immediately and give voters a better idea of how each candidate handles opposition. But the idea has drawbacks too. The debate might...
Perhaps the best approach would build on a suggestion from Ranney: A series of four debates with a different format for each, testing the candidates in a variety of settings. One might be a variation of an old-fashioned debate with stated topic, statements and rebuttals, and the candidates questioning each other; another could be a debate along present lines; the third and fourth might be modeled on Polsby's extended conversations. In some form, debates probably will and certainly should continue; the task is to prevent them from freezing into a mold that satisfies no one except...