House of Burgess: Democracy? That’s debatable.

Opinion

Related Photos

Rob Burgess, Tribune night editor

Discussion

October 3, 2012

House of Burgess: Democracy? That’s debatable.

By Rob Burgess Tribune columnist The Kokomo Tribune Wed Oct 03, 2012, 03:07 PM EDT

Tonight, virtually the only substantive portion of our never-ending presidential election cycle kicks off at Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Colorado. The event, hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates, will be the first of three televised match-ups between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. What won’t be featured are the candidates of any other party. That’s because the rules require at least 15 percent support in five national polls for a candidate to be allowed to debate.

Third party candidates have only made it to the big dance debate-wise twice. The first occurred in 1980 when independent John B. Anderson crashed the party. Democratic President Jimmy Carter wouldn’t debate with him. Republican Ronald Reagan wouldn’t debate without him. This rift resulted in a Carter-less first debate, a canceled second debate and a third debate sans Anderson. Anderson didn’t win any electoral votes, but gathered 5,719,850 in the popular vote. The appearance of Ross Perot in the 1992 debates pretty much ensured the two major parties would never let another interloper through the gates, as he brought down an impressive 19,743,821 in the popular vote. By contrast, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader was boxed out of the 2000 debates, only pulling down 2,882,955 in the popular vote. In each of these cases, Anderson, Perot and Nader were derisively described as kingmakers, allegedly denying Carter, George H.W. Bush and Al Gore the presidency, respectively.

Third party candidates may split the electorate, but they definitely break up the sheer monotony. Staying awake during the 2000 and 2004 presidential debates was a chore. Just look at the yawn-worthy rogues’ gallery: John Kerry, Al Gore and George W. Bush. For sheer power, there wasn’t a John F. Kennedy, Reagan or Bill Clinton in sight. But when a charmer is on stage, it’s usually lopsided, quickly devolving into a popularity contest. The most dynamic leader since Kennedy, Reagan was an actor through and through, with catchphrases like a movie hero. “There you go again,” he chided Jimmy Carter in 1980. This line worked for Regan so well that he brought it back out of retirement in 1984, this time re-gifting it to Walter Mondale.

Television is a powerful medium. Richard Nixon learned this better than anyone. The 1960 election, in which he faced Kennedy, was the first to feature televised debates. Famously, Nixon looked haggard and appeared to be on his deathbed. By contrast, Kennedy was a golden statue with a silver tongue. But unlike 1960, none of the 1964, 1968 or 1972 elections featured televised debates. It took until 1976 to bring the tradition back. Is it then just a coincidence that Nixon handily won in 1968 and 1972?

Televised debates are far from an antique tradition incapable of flexibility. The Commission on Presidential Debates didn’t even take over the process until 1988. Prior to that, the League of Women Voters moderated the 1976, 1980 and 1984 debates. The 15 percent requirement is a farce. Most pollsters don’t even bother asking about anything except Romney and Obama. At the very least, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein should be allowed in the mix this time. Both have their name on ballots in enough states to ensure they could conceivably garner the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.

The two major parties know the grand influence of the medium, and want nothing left to chance. Outsiders shake up the paradigm and keep the Democrats and Republicans on their toes.

And why would they want that?

Rob Burgess, Tribune night editor, may be reached by calling 765-454-8577 or via email at rob.burgess@kokomotribune.com.

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Opinion

Move over, Ind. drivers
Keep highway and utility workers safe; remember to pull over for utility vehicles.

May 19, 2013
May 18, 2013: Cheers & Jeers
Commissioner earns respect of inmates

Kyle Stacy sends this Cheer for Howard County Commissioner Paul Wyman:

May 18, 2013
House of Burgess: The revolution will be printed
Another major milestone in the history of 3D printing was reached earlier this month when Cody Wilson, director of the nonprofit Defense Distributed, announced he had conducted the first-ever successful test firing of a completely 3D-printed gun in (where else?) Texas. Wilson then uploaded the plans online. These files were then downloaded over 100,000 times over the next 48 hours. That was, until the State Department intervened.

May 15, 2013 1 Photo
Hayden: From good to great in education
On the campaign trail last year and early into his administration, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said repeatedly that his goal as governor would be to take Indiana from “good to great.”

May 14, 2013
Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research. Instead, their words of wisdom come from a greater source — the heart, where they store and process life experiences. Unfortunately, some folks don’t receive the gift of maternal guidance, for various reasons.

May 14, 2013
Wolfsie: Making bird calls
One afternoon in 2011, my friend Eric spent a couple of hours over lunch explaining Twitter to me and I thought I understood it all, but as you’ll see from my first few tweets, I wasn’t very confident: “Is anyone getting this?”

May 13, 2013
Letter to the Editor: May 13, 2013
Good people wouldn’t do this to their neighbors. This common refrain is being heard over eastern Howard County where industrial development is planned for our farmland in the form of massive wind turbines.

May 13, 2013
Vasicek: Mother’s Day stresses
For two hours, the lady sitting next to another airplane passenger boasted about her grandchildren, producing a barrage of photographs. She finally realized that she had been talking the whole time, so she tried to make amends:
“Oh, I am sorry! I have monopolized the conversation. I will listen to you now. So please tell me: what do you think of my grandchildren?”

May 12, 2013
Letters to the Editor: May 12, 2013
How fortunate, that after years of trying to bring top-notch wind energy companies to Tipton County, this great choice is here for us — just at the right time. Tipton County badly needs the revenue from clean wind farm companies.

May 12, 2013
Cheers & Jeers: May 12, 2013
“A big cheer goes out to Kokomo for those who parked along the route to cheer on the bikes and to the riders who participated in the 11th Annual Ride For The Troops on Sunday, April 28. Despite the rain, we had a excellent turnout of 457 bikes!"

May 11, 2013
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

House of Burgess: Democracy? That’s debatable.

Site Map

Contact Us