It’s that time again — the time when we all suddenly feel entitled to voice a political opinion because we’ve invested a total of four whole hours into watching the presidential debates. Many of us are tempted to fall under the delusion that listening to President Barack Obama and his challenger, Gov. Mitt Romney, exchange words somehow educates us better than other campaign materials. I think we can all do better than telling ourselves that, especially after seeing two of the most brilliant political minds in America transform into to tantrum-throwing toddlers on national television.
Now, political oratory has never proven to be the most graceful of endeavors. This is understandable, and even forgivable, considering the pressure coming from all angles, the stakes and the ever-vigilant eye of the public. But let’s not pretend that the presidential debates are a noble effort for the two candidates to pull themselves out of the trenches, wipe off the blood, sweat and mud and engage in an intellectually honest discussion. Let’s not pretend that the candidates are suddenly prone to represent their respective campaign platforms accurately for a generous 90 minutes. Let’s face the facts: the debates are just stump speeches stacked on more stump speeches, disguised as legitimate voter education.
I’m not here to deny that the debates carry significant political impact. We can see this clearly with the pendulum swing in polls after the first and second debates. Nor am I here to tell you, Pepperdine student, how to vote. I’m talking about impact in terms of actually learning about the candidates’ views and the major issues at stake in the upcoming (read: less-than-two-weeks-away) election. I’m saying, no matter which way you vote, make sure you spend a good chunk of time so you can confidently say you know what you’re voting for — and why.
Many of our founding fathers were opposed to a popular vote, not because they doubted public intelligence, but because they feared voters would not have sufficient information on the presidential candidates. As a generation that came of political age in a world with Wikipedia, YouTube and real-time fact checking, let’s not live up to their expectations. We watched the debates. That’s fantastic. But please, for the love of all things factual, let’s not stop there.
