Debate Survey

[H2O Man]

2. Thank you!

Definitely the Kennedy vs Nixon is the very best. I was too young to vote then, but to this day, I love watching the film of it. JFK was, in my opinion, the greatest president of my lifetime, saving civilation during the missile crisis.

I have mixed feelings about the true value of debates. Once they are in office, presidents do not need to debate. However, as you note, there is a big advantage to being able to answer questions -- as both JFK and President Obama did so very well. Again, as you said, those skills are almost exclusively seen in settings other than debates.

I do not think it would be difficult to make what is called a "debate" these days into what the word actually implies. If a couple simple steps were taken, they would actually be of much, much more value. I suspect the ratings would be a lot higher, too.