There will be a debate on television tonight, this time between the vice-presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Mike Pence.
What's even the point of political debates anymore? Will anything that either candidate says really change anyone's mind about who to vote for? Will some great policy initiative be proposed, or will some nuance in geopolitical strategy be revealed? I strongly doubt it.
These debates today aren't about policy or geopolitics. They're just two candidates trying to get meme-worthy zingers in on the other side, slings and arrows to be reposted tomorrow morning on Twitter and Facebook. They're about moderators tossing out hardball questions to further their own news reporting careers. They're factories that manufacture the grist for the punditry mills, providing content for commentary and bloviation and dissection.
They're not about changing any voter's mind.
Given that we're in a global pandemic and given that at least one of the presidential candidates has already contracted the coronavirus, wouldn't we all be better served if we just skipped this political theater and just let the voters have their say?
(Don't take this to mean I won't be glued to the screen tonight watching this.)
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