Sibby has laid out a very good treatment of the so-called debate of Governor candidates at the state fair at Huron. The debate was sponsored by, and ultimately controlled by the Mitchell Daily Republic, to the exclusion of Libertarian candidate Gerber. So much for free speech, eh?
The Chief concurs with Sibby’s jaundiced view of the Republic’s management of the debate, but would carry it even farther: the whole institutional culture of political pseudo-debates that has grown up. The whole situation with political campaigns negotiating ad nauseum over the terms of “acceptable conditions” that are required before they candidates can get on stage with each other has become a form of political minuet designed to minimize risk, and heaven forfend that a candidate should actually candidly be himself/herself!
The Chief would greatly prefer to cut to the chase, and have real debates, mano-a-mano, Lincoln-Douglas style, but apparently the politicos don’t have enough respect for the voters, or confidence in their own abilities and character to do that.
Such being the case, we’ll inevitably be subjected to more episodes of elaborately choreographed and exclusive bouts of political kabuki theater instead of a free-ranging open debate format that might actually let the voters really get to know what the candidates are all about.
’nuff said on this, for now.