What Matters Most In Debates Like These
It’s eerily calm here in Miami, the wind of hurricane Jeanne has withered and in its stead, left a gaggle of national press in neon lit hotels waiting for tonight’s Presidential debate between George Bush and John Kerry.
Despite the carefully agreed upon rules, which offer a safety net of sorts to both campaigns, anything can happen in a debate. And if something happens in a debate it is usually a mistake by one of the candidates. Pithy lines are planned and scripted, but blunders become magnified. Big time blunders, when they occur in front of millions of people, become voters spending the next morning exclaiming “What was he thinking?” to co-workers around the water cooler at work, or across the neighbor’s fence at home.
I’ve served on debate prep teams for several Presidential candidates over the years. And all the preparation in the world can not stop George Bush from saying something like “We can not win the war on terror” or John Kerry from saying something like “I voted for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.” Tonight it comes down to the two candidates, alone on a stage — prepared, yes— but with no safety net to save them from their own words if a mistake is made.
A debate can also, on rarer occasions, be the launching pad for something energizing and positive for a campaign and the country.
In the Dean campaign we were playing a game of “pepper” just minutes before the South Carolina Primary debate last year. “Pepper” is a sort of relaxed session where a bunch of staff throw out a mixed bag of questions to the candidate in rapid fire and the candidate has to respond without making a mistake.
It was that game of “pepper” that spawned the words spoken by Howard Dean at that debate and at every rally thereafter in his campaign:
“The great lie spoken on stages like this, by candidates like me at election time, is vote for me and I will solve all your problems— the truth is the power to change this country rests in your hands – not mine.”
Tonight, two candidates will take the stage, but what matters most is what you do. Watch the debate: talk about it with your neighbors, family and co-workers afterwards. Become part of the active American discussion about our country’s future. And vote.
I’ll be on MSNBC later tonight to join that discussion with Joe Scarborough and Ron Reagan. And I hope you will email me what you think.
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