Rational debate no where in the near future
There’s a good reason the GOP debates have higher ratings than those of the Democrats. It is more entertaining to listen to a petty spat than an exchange of ideas.
One used to watch the debates to determine who appeared most presidential. Now watching a Republican debate is pretty much like seeing children screaming at each other on the playground. Instead of “are not,” “am so” or “your mother’s ugly!” it’s “Liar!” “Choker!” “Con man!” and “Cheater!”
The last debate was more civilized and probably lost a lot of viewers.
While a Democratic debate is usually more substantive, the proposals each candidate makes are probably no more than pipe dreams. Bernie Sanders would need a like-minded Congress and Supreme Court to make his programs a reality, and that is not likely to happen. On the other hand, there is so much antipathy toward Hillary Clinton among Republicans that trying to buck a hostile Congress would be as futile for her as it has been for President Barack Obama.
It seems that a rational United States may well be somewhere in the distant future.
Tom Bauer, Morro Bay
This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Rational debate no where in the near future."