Here is how I ended my commentary on the first of these debates:
Democratic contenders are scheduled to have another 11 debates. But I see no point in watching, let alone commenting, any further.
(“Biden Gaffing the Nomination Away,” The iPINIONS Journal, June 29, 2019)
Many of you have asked me to elaborate. I could refer you to previous commentaries that telegraphed my simmering disinterest. But here, in a nutshell, is why I am tuning out.
Frankly, I pity the candidates. After all, they must resent having to participate in entertainment shows masquerading as political debates.
Nothing is more off-putting in this respect than the way the news media and political pundits hype and comment on these debates, respectively. I mean, you’d think they were covering and commenting on WrestleMania’s latest battle royale.
To be fair, they are merely feeding the American people what they want. Of course, that’s why America elected a reality-TV buffoon like Donald Trump as president in 2016. This, instead of electing the most qualified person to ever run for the presidency, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
[R]atings indicate that even Americans who hate Trump can’t resist watching his reality-TV show masquerading as a presidential campaign. …
Not to mention the alarming number of people who, it seems, just want to be entertained — even in politics; and, the more gauche and scandalous the better. This explains the popularity of reality-TV, the tabloidization of the news, and the rise of Trump — the impact on cultural development, or even the welfare of the country, be damned.
(“Humping Trump Exposes News Anchormen as Worse than Used Car Salesmen,” May 2, 2016)
Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that politics in America today is more of a dysfunctional, helter-skelter shitshow than even a preternatural cynic like me could have ever imagined. But I cannot overstate how much the joke’s on us.
Finally, as far as these presidential debates are concerned, count me out until the fall of 2020; that’s when the eventual nominees will hold their three customary debates.
In the meantime, if you want to know where the candidates stand on any issue, go to their websites and read. Because, far from informing viewers, candidates are merely trying to land political blows during these debates, which they hope will go viral on social media.
Note: Professional wrestling was must-see reality-TV long before Kim Kardashian was born. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I used to be a big fan. But I haven’t watched an episode since the 1970s, when Terry Funk, Jack Briscoe, and Dusty “The American Dream” Rhodes were professional wrestling’s lead actors.
Related commentaries:
Biden gaffing…
Humping Trump…