2008 Woodie Awards
Political debates, show or tell
JT Shroyer
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: Forum
"Don't judge a book by its cover." Ha! Who are we kidding? We have become a nation which not only judges a book by its cover, but when the cover is appealing and good-looking, we don't even bother opening it to read the first word. Ever since the JFK-Nixon televised debate, the American voter has become more and more obsessed with style, appearance and "relatability" over substance, experience, intelligence or policy.
It seems that Joe Six-Pack and hockey moms all over our country are voting with their feelings and are more persuaded by which candidate would be more fun to have a beer with, rather than using logic and reasoned thought to vote for the person proposing the best policies to help our country.
Style has become more important than substance, and at this moment in American history with unprecedented debt, an economy in shambles, a devastating war in Iraq, unbelievable job loss and a broken health care system, we the youth of America can not embrace or enable this trend to continue any longer. We can not treat politics like a popularity contest or even worse, a beauty pageant.
The vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin gave Americans clear insight into the two candidates, which shows each of their substance and style.
Governor Palin is the CliffsNotes version and Joe Biden is the entire book, with index, footnotes and bibliography included. During the debate, Sarah Palin showed us she is sharp and clearly able to memorize statistics, voting records and talking points - how many times did she say the word "maverick"?
She carried herself well and certainly helped her cause by only answering questions she wanted to and redirecting the ones she didn't. And at one point she even bluntly said, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear..." Her responses had little depth or detail and showed she has a limited understanding of domestic and foreign policy issues. She made up for this with winks, folksy charm and an insistence that she is just an average American who understands our challenges.
It seems that Joe Six-Pack and hockey moms all over our country are voting with their feelings and are more persuaded by which candidate would be more fun to have a beer with, rather than using logic and reasoned thought to vote for the person proposing the best policies to help our country.
Style has become more important than substance, and at this moment in American history with unprecedented debt, an economy in shambles, a devastating war in Iraq, unbelievable job loss and a broken health care system, we the youth of America can not embrace or enable this trend to continue any longer. We can not treat politics like a popularity contest or even worse, a beauty pageant.
The vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin gave Americans clear insight into the two candidates, which shows each of their substance and style.
Governor Palin is the CliffsNotes version and Joe Biden is the entire book, with index, footnotes and bibliography included. During the debate, Sarah Palin showed us she is sharp and clearly able to memorize statistics, voting records and talking points - how many times did she say the word "maverick"?
She carried herself well and certainly helped her cause by only answering questions she wanted to and redirecting the ones she didn't. And at one point she even bluntly said, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear..." Her responses had little depth or detail and showed she has a limited understanding of domestic and foreign policy issues. She made up for this with winks, folksy charm and an insistence that she is just an average American who understands our challenges.
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