Letters to Editors

I finally had a letter published in the Mountain View Telegraph.

Scripted Debates A Bipartisan Sham

A VERY IMPORTANT part of our political process, the debates, are about to arrive. Or are they? What was once a vital part of a voter's decision-making has become a tightly controlled, heavily scripted, bipartisan sham, not debates. We should not allow this to happen.

Debates used to be where voters would move to one candidate or the other, where undecideds may decide. Debates are where some of our greatest (and some not-so-great) leaders were discovered. Recall the historically revered Lincoln-Douglas debates, or the history-changing Kennedy-Nixon debates. Who doesn't remember vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bensten telling his opponent Dan Quayle, "Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy"?

Today we are assured that no history-making moments will occur during the debates. Back in 1988 the leaders of the Democrats and Republicans formed a corporation called the Commission on Presidential Debates and wrested control away from the then-sponsors of the debates, the League of Women Voters. When this happened debate was effectively neutered. Now every minor detail is negotiated, candidates are not allowed to directly address each other, questions are posed in advance so answers can be rehearsed, and third-party candidates are intentionally excluded. Is this honest debate, or is it, as Walter Cronkite declared, "unconscionable fraud"?

We as free Americans should demand honest and open debates. We deserve to hear the beliefs and opinions of those who would lead us, and not just from the two major parties. We deserve to hear from every viable presidential candidate if we are to truly understand and evaluate the various ideas and positions regarding the many events that effect our lives today. I ask everyone to join the movement for a return to meaningful debates by signing the petition at www.opendebates.org. In a free society, open debates should not be too much to ask for.

BENJAMIN MORIN
Edgewood

Also today, I got a call from an editor from the Alibi call to confirm a letter I sent last week about third party politics and the upcoming documentary on PBS. Hopefully it will be printed in the next issue.