At one point in time, decades and decades ago, televised presidential debates were seen as a serious broadcast of each candidates personality, beliefs, and plans. The original purpose for these debates has been skewed and it has become more like a reality show than an educational program. It is evident that the human mind is addicted to drama and conflict, and that is why the extreme fabrication of reality television, shows like the housewives and the bachelor, have garnered millions of viewers to no avail. At this point in the race, many voters have already made their decision and these debates do nothing to actually change over or educate the audience. No one is really watching the debate to learn more about what the candidates have to say about their own agenda, everyone is watching the debates to see what one candidate says to the other. Viewers are waiting with baited breath for harsh words and insults; they want the candidates to throw punches instead of ideas. Presidential debates are nothing but a boxing match and a huge waste of time for the American mind.
1. Fake environment.
At the end of the day, the race for president is extremely planned and concocted, and people are being paid to sell a product (the product being the candidate.) Everything that happens during a presidential debate is highly rehearsed, months and months before the actual debate occurs. Of course, there are unexpected moments during these debates that not even the people behind the scenes see coming, but that does not change the fact that the environment is very fabricated. An interesting aspect of this particular presidential debate is that the audience watching knows how contrived both Clinton and Trump are, and both candidates will have to work extra hard to make their tone and words seem genuine to voters. It is highly likely that both candidates will fail at convincing the audience that their performance is not staged, and their low levels of trust with voters will likely remain the same.
2. Supporters have already chosen their side.
At this moment, most voters already know which why they are leaning for the election. Since both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are highly unfavorable, this years election mainly focuses on party loyalty. Anti-Trump Republicans may be voting for Trump, but they do not support him; they are only voting for him to support the party and to plan for a 2020 election that does not involve Trump. This same concept goes for Bernie Sanders supporters who loathe Hillary Clinton; they will vote for her because of party loyalty and to stop Republicans from taking the office. This election is extremely divided with far left and far right ideologies taking the forefront, and because of that many supporters are hot-glued to their candidate.
3. Blanket statements and plans.
People have a false belief that a debate between two candidates will bring out new information about their plans and more details about what they promise for the future of the country. For almost every debate thus far, there has been a lot of "what I am going to do," but not a lot of "how I am going to do it." Candidates are not going to reveal their full intentions, and will continue to use blanket statements and plans; a couple of hours on a television program is not going to change that.
4. Biased commentators.
An aspect of presidential debates that completely counterproductive is having commentators that have once worked for a certain side or works opposite a certain side. They will bring nothing but biased opinions and reporting into the argument. It is quite obvious that a Trump surrogate is not going to praise Clinton for her stance and the same goes for a Clinton surrogate being biased towards Clinton. At the end of the day, their opinions are either based on personal allegiance or former employment.
5. A tight race.
More specifically focused on Clinton versus Trump, this is going to be a very tight race—nearly neck and neck. A presidential debate between Clinton and Trump might sway some unsure or independent voters to one side or another, but many independent voters are very much against both candidates and unsure voters may not vote at all in this election. No matter what candidate does better during the debate for president, it will not have any impact on the results of the race in November. Whether Clinton or Trump do good during the face off, both will be biting their nails furiously when it comes time for everyone to cast their vote.
So, the real question is: Are we watching these presidential debates to learn more about the candidates policies or are we simply watching to witness a political bloodbath?
