Presidential debates

There are a number of problems with the current approach to presidential debates. Among them is they are essentially controlled by the democrats and republicans. Both sides have embraced rules that make it difficult for an alternative to emerge. I can go on about this, but I actually have a bigger concern, their choice of venues.


Let's take a look at this year's debate venues:
Wright State University
Longwood University (Vice Presidential Debate)
Washington University in St. Louis
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

How about 2012?
University of Denver
Centre College (Vice Presidential Debate)
Hofstra University
Lynn University

2008?
The University of Mississippi
Washington University in St. Louis (Vice Presidential Debate)
Belmont University
Hofstra University

2004?
University of Miami
Case Western Reserve University (Vice Presidential Debate)
Washington University in St. Louis
Arizona State University

2000?
University of Massachusetts
Centre College (Vice Presidential Debate)
Wake Forest University
Washington University

Do you notice a trend? Every one of these debates has been set up at a college. You have to go back to 1996 (that's 20 years for those of you who suck at math) to find a debate in any other venue.

Why colleges? There are certainly more voters than just this one segment of the population. No other voters get the same kind of treatment.

There are probably several reasons for this, but I have my suspicions that this is not honorable. Our entire schooling system in this country trains us to turn to others to tell us what we know. More than likely, college students make up the most vulnerable segment of the voting population.

I don't think these debates are meant to win an election. I think they are designed to lure voters to their party. College students are generally easy to manipulate. If you can convince them to embrace your side of the debate, your party could have a voter for life. That is ultimately what these candidates are trying to win.

In addition to the opportunity to gain a permanent supporter, the use of colleges can potentially strengthen the two-party system. By restricting choices to just the two major parties, college students don't hear about alternatives. Most will feel like they have to choose between supporting the democrats or supporting the republicans.

I should probably point out that there have been third-party debates that have actually been willing to reach outside the collegiate world. I respect that. Most of these debates are sponsored by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation. They also probably should not technically be listed as third-party debates since they invite all candidates with a theoretical chance of winning including the major party candidates. Of course, democrats and republicans would never attend an event that acknowledges the existence of alternatives. Unfortunately, Free & Equal has given into the craze this year and announced a debate at University of Colorado, Boulder.