Been a while. So, if you’re a regular reader, sorry. If you’re not, then you’re part of 99.9% of
the population (rounded up), so don’t worry about it.
As the title says, I’m not going to watch the debate
tonight. And honestly, I’m not going to watch any of the debates. To be clear,
I am going to vote. And I’m guessing
that, like most people, I already know who I’m going to vote for.
So that’s one reason I’m not going to watch the debate.
Think about it: what do you think might get said at tonight’s
debate that could possibly change your mind? If you’ve come this far with
Trump, do you really think there’s anything he could possibly do now to put him
out of your favor? Is there anything
Clinton could say that makes you go “oh, wow—that’s a good point”? On the other
hand, if you were for Hillary, would you suddenly find yourself nodding along
to one of Trump’s points? Or hear her mess up a question, and wonder if you’re
making the right choice?
Of course not. Trump could come up with a legitimate plan to
cure cancer, and I really think we’d just say “fine—give us the cure, but we’re
not voting you president because of it.” And Hillary could just spit on Donald
in response to every answer he had, and we’d be like “that’s disgusting…but so is
he.”
What, then, is the point of the debate?
Ratings. Ratings for the networks, and—more importantly—ratings
for the news organizations. The lead up, the live viewings, the analysis. It’s
all about entertainment.
The problem is, I have a feeling this is either going to be
boring, or it’s going to be a blood sport. Nothing substantive is going to come
out in these debates. Hillary will be playing against the “she can only lose”
mindset from most commentators, and Trump will either “defy expectations” (by
actually answering policy questions with seemingly respectable answers) or will
play to the crowd, trolling and zinging Clinton into hopefully making a
mistake.
How is that a discourse on the state of the country? How is
that an actual debate? How are we supposed to actually get answers from these
candidates?
Just as important, though, is my original feeling: that
their answers don’t matter. The people interested in watching the debates are
already interested in politics (or political theater), and therefore almost
certainly decided. This isn’t like Bush/Kerry, where the nation truly had to
think about which bland candidate they wanted to lead the country. Or even
Obama/McCain, where two “reformers” had different ideas about how they wanted
to change the country…but were both well-respected.
No. One is hated by the opposition for being married to her
husband, for legitimate mistakes she made in terms of national security, and
for the illegitimate reason of happening to be a woman. The other is hated by
his opposition as being a notorious flip-flopper, a hate-mongerer, a bigot and misogynist,
and a financial enigma that claims personal wealth but won’t disclose that
wealth.
These are highly polarizing figures for one reason or
another, and if the election had been held yesterday, I don’t think the results
would change if the election was held tomorrow, after the debate.
Which all means I’m not going to be watching this debate.
And I won’t be watching the next one. I know who I’m voting for, and I have a
feeling you do, too. So why pretend it matters other than as entertainment? And
by that, meaning you’re hoping someone says something so outrageous that you
have an emotional, visceral reaction to it.
Why not just drink yourself sick, or go on a rollercoaster,
or hook up with a stranger?
At least you’d be enjoying yourself for a little bit, then.
