Presidential Debates: Modern Day Gladiators

George Wenschhof

 

Prior, to the Colosseum being built in Rome, Gladiators would fight in many amphitheaters across the empire, providing they would hold an audience, who would always weigh in on whether a life should be spared.

Not all gladiator fights ended with a turned thumb by the emperor.  But, there was always clearly a winner in this brutal spectator sport.

Today, Television and Internet coverage of the U.S. presidential and vice president debates result in 60 million viewers, a twenty-first century version of the Colosseum.

The debates are held to assist voters in determining the candidates they will support to hold the highest elected positions in the United States.

But, like the gladiators of ancient Rome, the debates have turned into a brutal spectator sport and hardly a trustworthy means for a voter to determine how they should cast their ballot.

The first presidential debate moderated by PBS Jim Lehrer displayed a desperate Republican Mitt Romney, who behind in the polls, was on the attack. Romney gave his best chameleon impression with statements devoid of truth, always ending his remarks with a fake quirky smile as he gazed off to the left.

All the while, President Obama absorbed the blows and instead of striking back, stayed with his message.

What followed illustrates modern day politics dominated by campaign communication directors, pundits and special interest groups. The spin room, already in operation prior to the debate, was working full bore to tell the voters what they had just witnessed.

Campaign communication directors were busy prior, during and following the debate, highlighting to the media the positives of what their candidates had said during the debate.

NBC commentator Chris Matthews; a progressive, was quick to denounce Obama for not fighting back more fiercely during the debate, citing example after example of the purported lies put forward by Romney during the debate.

Republican friendly commentators touted Romney had found his voice and was back in the race.

The spin had taken hold with progressives critical of lies from Romney, who became disappointed with the performance by Obama. Conservatives, bolstered by the spin, were giddy over a  perceived lackluster performance by the President.

Subsequent polling reflecting the spin showed a tightening of the race in the battleground states with Romney and Obama essentially tied among most likely voters nationwide.

Next up was the only vice president debate with the spin influencing the tone of the debate which resulted in a slug fest.  Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Vice President Joe Biden did not disappoint.  Biden was to Ryan what Romney had been to Obama in the first presidential debate. 

Now, the spin masters are in full force and effect once again prior to the second of three presidential debates on October 16.  This debate will be a town hall forum with questions from undecided voters.

The candidate campaign staffs are now in a dizzy over the possibility moderator Candy Crowley of CNN may deviate from the agreed upon format and actually ask a follow up question, instead of merely serving as a prop for the questioners.

As the debate nears, Progressives and Conservatives are thirsting to see their candidate dominate the other in this debate.

Three presidential and one vice president debates in the month of October, prior to the November 6 election is one way to assist voters in determining their choice.

Democracy isn’t easy. But, unlimited campaign spending and the current presidential debate format leaves one longing for a better way.

We can do better.

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Time To Resolve Immigration Issue

George Wenschhof

The late John F. Kennedy wrote a book prior to becoming president entitled "Profiles in Courage", in which he focused on the acts of eight U.S. Senators who he felt had shown courage of conviction in the face of pressure from political parties and constituents.

An excerpt from the book, which is appropriate when it comes to the issue of illegal immigration and the need for Congress to act, goes as follows; "The true democracy, living and growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people – faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment – faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor and ultimately recognize right."

For too long, elected members of Congress have failed to act on many critical issues, concerned instead on poll numbers, political party majorities, and the likelihood of reelection.

The current debate of a budget reduction plan is yet another example as both Republicans and Democrats argue specifics of a four or six trillion reduction of the national debt over the next ten years. Sadly, both plans being discussed still add five to seven trillion to the nations debt according to the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

This follows three continuing resolution extensions for the fiscal year 2011 budget. Unfortunately, the latest agreement to reduce the current budget by 38 billion actually will save 353 million according to the Congressional Budget Office analysis.

Over eleven million illegal immigrants are estimated to currently reside in the United States. A staggering number and one that begs the question as to what is being done.

The lack of a federal comprehensive plan on immigration reform has only exacerbated the problem.

Previous bipartisan attempts to legislate a solution to the immigration problem in the United States have failed, such as the effort in 2007, prior to the 2008 presidential election.

That effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Az.) resulted in the "Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007."

The bill addressed strengthening U.S. borders and provided a convoluted manner for an undocumented immigrant to obtain citizenship.

It was the proposed so-called pathway to citizenship which contributed to the failure of the bill to pass. Asking a undocumented immigrant to pay a fine, return to their country and then pay thousands to be able to return, was simply a non-starter.

The areas which need to be addressed in regard to illegal immigration are not difficult to identify. An update of the current immigration procedures, securing borders, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers and providing a reasonable pathway to citizenship is what is needed.

The billion dollar border fence boondoggle was a failure from the start. The effort to stop illegal immigration along the U.S./Mexico border by building a high tech fence ended five years after it began under the George W. Bush administration.

The building of a fence hardly was fitting for the country which promotes it's Statue of Liberty as a symbol of freedom and opportunity.

However, increasing border patrol manpower and utilizing technology to monitor borders is certainly a sensible and practical solution.

Even with the efforts of zealots like Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Araipo, rounding up over eleven million undocumented immigrants will not happen.

Instead, providing a reasonable pathway to citizenship should be passed by Congress. One which will lead to taxes being collected that will help reduce the national debt.

A penalty is certainly warranted, but it needs to both entice and punish a undocumented immigrant.

Requiring two thousand hours of community service over a two-three year period should be considered. A fine will never encourage someone to identify themselves. Whereas, community service would serve the two fold purpose of providing a reasonable pathway for one to earn their citizenship while also providing needed service to the many communities across the country.

Those who did not opt for the community service program within a six month period from introduction of the program would not be eligible.

Of course, a undocumented immigrant who has a criminal record would not qualify and still face incarceration and deportation.

The creation of a universal identification card is long overdo in the United States. MSNBC political commentator Chris Matthews has been calling for it for some time as a means to crack down on employers hiring undocumented workers.

Which is the other area that demands attention from Congress. Employers who hire undocumented workers should face serious fines along with suspension or loss of license, when appropriate.

Agreement on, updating immigration policy and procedures, securing borders, creating a universal identification card, severely penalizing employers who hire undocumented workers and providing a reasonable pathway to citizenship can be reached by Congress.

There has never been a better time to tackle the issues surrounding immigration than the present.

Immigration reform can be accomplished in the United States and voters should demand action from members of Congress.

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Democratic Chatter 3-23-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama returns to the White House from Camp David this morning - later the president will discuss the energy independence part of his proposed budget. Increased funds will be provided for clean energy technologies. Tomorrow night at 8:00 PM ET, the president will address the nation during prime time. He is expected to address the A.I.G. bonuses and efforts being made to correct the dismal economy. Time.com has more here.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announces the latest bailout plan for Banks - this has been talked about for some time but the details were lacking on this proposed public-private partnership to purchase up to 1 trillion of troubled mortgages and related assets of banks. CNN.com has more here. Initially the Treasury would buy between 75-100 billion of bad debt and then auction the debt securities to the private sector. There is already hesitancy from the private sector due to the government attempting to limit executive pay so don't expect the private sector to be lining up to buy these bad debt securities.

Geithner has an Op-Ed which appeared in the Wall Street Journal today describing this program and the efforts to date of the Obama administration to stem the financial crisis. You can read his Op-Ed column here.

Perhaps the Obama administration has finally realized Geithner is not a good public relations man - Dr. Christina Romer, chair of the White House council of economic advisers is the one appearing on TV early today to push the program.

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Wall Street reacts favorably to Geithner's plan - at least for this morning. The Dow Jones is up 150 points after stocks in Asia and Europe gained on news of the latest U.S. government plan to aid troubled banks. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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For those of you who are MSNBC junkies - Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman have signed contracts through the 2012 campaign - this will ensure loyal viewers these political pundits will be discussing the first term of the Obama administration and the 2012 election. Politico.com has more here.

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On the foreign policy front, Obama spoke yesterday on "Sixty Minutes" of the need for a comprehensive strategy and exit plan for Afghanistan - he spoke of the need to improve the economy, further diplomacy with Pakistan and increase regional assistance in the effort. The exit strategy is important as this was absent in the planning when George W. Bush administration sent U.S. troops into Iraq. MSNBC.com has more here.

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