tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1197941448636710023.post5748496277444555497..comments2021-10-03T11:42:17.047-04:00Comments on The Senses of Rhetoric: Why Debate Preparation MattersTom Bensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10187000395048731857noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1197941448636710023.post-80768235104969091792017-06-11T17:16:51.926-04:002017-06-11T17:16:51.926-04:00And part of the function of debates, campaigns, an...And part of the function of debates, campaigns, and press conferences is for the President to do his or her best to persuade the public -- and to open the president's position to debate and opposition. These, too, are essential functions of a democracy.<br />Tom Bensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10187000395048731857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1197941448636710023.post-41501171954405600942017-06-11T11:22:54.142-04:002017-06-11T11:22:54.142-04:00Why DOES debate prep matter? You've described ...Why DOES debate prep matter? You've described the reasons well. The problem in US format Presidential style elections is that the candidates (in this case Trump) lack the intellectual capacity, the educational sophistication or even the native curiosity to prepare. And, the US citizenry allows the candidates to get away with that. Consider every other election in every other liberal state. The candidates are excoriated by the public is they fail to present cogent positions. In the last UK election, Ms. May will likely have lost her position as PM because she failed to prepare. No other state allows what happened in the US. None of them. So, why do US citizens set the bar so low when so much is at stake??michael parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02383416536649838910noreply@blogger.com