Dear Fox, please fix these debate problems

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

NOTES FROM THE SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE:

• Fox News had to discount advertising on the debate because viewership is declining.  This is a direct result of too many candidates on stage (many clearly out of their league).   The debate rules need to take into account of a clear front runner and stop giving time to candidates who only score 1%-2% nationally.   Half of the candidates are there only to trash and smash the other half of the candidates in the lead, and that does not serve any meaningful purpose and is driving viewers away.  There should have been only four spots.

• Candidates spoke over each other and steamrolled the moderators, making it impossible to understand what was being said.  Please use a “mute” button or prolonged buzzer to eliminate this.

• Although we appreciated some of the Univision reporter’s tough questions, yet too many were “gotcha” questions or emotionally loaded questions that made the moderators look biased.

• Stop stupid questions.  The question to candidates to name another candidate to “vote off the island” maybe a juicy question for pundits and news panels, but it was disrespectful, off-topic  and wasteful for actual candidates to answer.   Thanks to DeSantis for sabotaging it.

POINTS ON THE CANDIDATES:

• The good news is that these candidates are getting better and better at explaining the problems at hand (Vivek scores A+), but still lacking in providing solutions that are either new, fresh or communicated in a unique way that captures people’s attention.  Citing fentanyl statistics or border crossing statistics only makes you sound like all the other candidates quoting the same statistics.

• Super-succinct personal stories still work.  The story about the lady who for the first time in her life had to take back grocery items off from her cart because the total at the checkout lane was too much was superb (Haley).  The story about a family using AirBnB rental and their child sickened from the drug residue on the floor was also superb (DeSantis).