Well, it certainly didn’t take long for the political talking heads to begin debating last night’s presidential debate – so to speak – as those to the right and to the left (not to mention those firmly entrenched in the middle) continue to look for an out-an-out “winner,” as loosely as that term applies to any debate, no matter the topic.
News flash, folks, nobody wins a debate. You can win a football or baseball game; you can win the lottery; and you can win a trip to the Bahamas. You can’t, however, win a debate.
Which also means you can’t lose a debate. Lose a loved one? Sure. Lose your mind? Been there, done that. But lose a debate? It’s simply not possible. What you can do – whether you’re Obama or Romney – is determine whether you’ve changed any minds, brought an undecided voter over to your side of the fence or maybe even shot yourself in the foot, in the political sense, chasing potential voters away.
And God only knows there are plenty of groups out there – demographically speaking – to chase away, be it women in the workplace looking for equal pay or the working poor who are well beyond sick and tired of hearing any über-wealthy politician tell them to stick it out and “keep your nose to the grindstone” for the good of our country, no matter their political affiliation.
You can win an election – and I’m sure the presidential debates will affect the ultimate outcome in November – but a debate? Really?
Regardless, it honetly doesn’t matter anymore, as far as winning (or losing) a “discussion, as of a public question in an assembly, involving opposing viewpoints (debate as defined by dictionary.com),” considering all one needs to do is turn on their favorite 24 hour news network. Want to go to bed satisfied that your boy, Romney, took home top honors? Just switch to Fox News. Worried that President Obama might have lost a point or two when the next poll is released? Go to CNN or one of the other “liberal” media outlets. Republican, Democrat, Independent or undecided, cable news networks are doing anything and everything they can to tell you exactly what you want to hear. Is that American? I suppose so ... you know, that whole freedom of press, freedom of speech thing. Is it responsible? That’s up for the individual voter to decide, I’d wager.
Me? Well, needless to say, I have my own source on which I rely when it comes to all things political. What’s that, you ask? Why, ‘30 Seconds,’ of course. Not to mention ... you can tell a lot about a completely anonymous personality by observing closely their tone, diction and – without a doubt – ability to write the English language ... properly, that is.
“The President of the United States lied on television to all of America and nobody cares. That’s a big problem,” says Woman from Norwich, obviously a fan of Fox News and one of the few able to write a complete sentence, however misguided her opinion may be.
“Chenango County voters: one important lesson the Tea Party has taught ... we don't have to take what the system presents us on the ballot. Don’t see the best candidate listed? Write them in!”
This from Woman from Otselic, who brings up a good point, although I’m not sure the last time a write in campaign, of any kind, won the presidency ... or any seat in office. Not to mention I’d be hard-pressed to find anything the tea party (note the lack of capitalization, which is proper, I assure you) has taught me, except to run the other way.
And how about our good friend, Man from Preston, who states, “What’s the fool ... trying to prove? Can you say redneck yokel? Bet it’s a pit bull,” which has absolutely nothing to do with the upcoming presidential election (at least I hope not), yet a statement that still deserved its day in print.
I have an old friend – and former professor from my college days – who said not long ago that this election would be decided by the ignorant, the uneducated and the illiterate. And simply for the sake of argument, I disagreed, telling her to give the American people more credit. She laughed, of course (quite the firecracker, that one), holding up a copy of The Evening Sun and asking if I ever read our hometown daily.
“Of course I do,” I replied. “I work there.”
“And do you ever read ‘30 Seconds,’ Brian?”
“Well, yeah, who doesn’t.”
Obviously, she proved her point.

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