Do political debates reveal the best candidate?
No, and here’s why.
Put two candidates on color TV with 100 million people watching around the globe. The cameras catch every facial expression; the air is full of tension.
Present the issues? Do this for the common good? The candidates can’t afford to lose this one — each one is under cruel pressure to win. And so, we have a desperate fight instead of a clear presentation of issues.
I would like to suggest a better way to go at this. Instead of face tface debate, which brings out partisanship and argument, let each candidate privately present to the people a simple, honest statement of beliefs and policies. The glamour and distortion of TV imagery would be eliminated, along with all the pressures and tensions that make candidates desperate to win and to forget the common good.
Paul Kelly
Greenfield