It wasn’t a surprise that Trump choose to talk over Hillary during the first debate. He interrupted her 51 times.
What was surprising was little-known Clinton VP Kaine bested that ignominious record. He interrupted Trump’s VP candidate Mike Pence 72 times.
Does being obnoxious and rude win debates? Fortunately no. Hillary is widely seen to have trounced Trump, while Pence got the win over Tim Kaine.
Does that mean that we should expect future debates to be more collegial and professional?
Don’t count on it.
Despite numerous requests by the moderators to not interrupt their opponents, the candidates ignored those instructions. We learned moderators have little power to control the candidates.
Drop the mic
Some back and forth has its place. Operative word being some. The VP debate turned out to be more frustrating than enlightening. A way to control the candidates from talking over each other would be to give the moderator a button to turn the mic off a non-cooperative candidate.
Image a red-face Kaine or Trump foolishly miming objections to their opponent’s answer. It would make for a hilarious video clip that would certainly make the 24 hour-news channel highlights.
Role models?
Our children are learning that disrespecting those who have a difference of opinion is acceptable and sometimes effective. Trump will be Trump. His appeal is curious and improbable. How can we explain Kaine’s debate meltdown? Let’s give the moderators the tools to control the forum and keep the discussion on track. The candidates have ample time to belittle and attack each other on social media, at campaign rallies, and with attack ads. Let’s preserve the debates as a way for the candidates to articulate their policy and vision. Let’s not let the interruptions high-jack that purpose. Let the moderators mute the noise so we can listen, learn, and determine the best representative based on substance, rather than volume.
