10/02/2020
From the Arena- September 29- First Debate
‘Who won the debate?’ is the wrong question. It all depends… on what you are looking for.
What do you want to see displayed in the arena? What does each side of spectators want in their winner? We knew going in to the match that they are very different. Last night the contrast was magnified 100 fold.
Scanning newspapers and tweets the morning after belied the clues of what mattered. The Trump team of spectators extoled him because he ‘owned the room, pulled some good punches, dominated, got the most air time, shut Joe down.’ Extreme aggressiveness, doing whatever it took, not following the agreed upon rules and norms prevailed and was expected. Trump bullied his opponent and moderator as only a real predator could and would. He wowed his fan base by not being seen as the victim, never being weak, and always dishing it out. Those reviewers on the Trump team did admit that women might not have liked this behavior, their assumption being that real men would not be turned off.
Last night was compared to a circus- but those spectators don’t want a clown, they want a winner. For the sport spectator on both teams the most compelling question about Joe was ‘how would he handle the hits? How would he take it? How many punches could he deliver? How aggressive could he be?’
What else should actually matter to the American spectator? Living to our highest ideals? Denouncing white supremacy when given the chance? Assuring the American public of democracy- that votes and elections matter would decide the presidency? Sharing (or having) a platform in depth? The answers to the questions of the moderator? In life we spectators get the fights we want and value.
So, what is it like to watch a c**kfight? I’ve seen them in Mexico amid the roars of the spectators. Raw, exciting, brutal, bloody. Or how about a bull fight? I lived in Madrid in the 60’s. That is the experience that some are savoring in this debate arena by their morning after reactions to the fight that they got to see.
The only problem is that this particular contest is not intended as a c**k fight, nor a bull fight. This is, or was, a debate with rules and norms designed to help the American electorate decide who should be our next President.
We normally hear each candidate tell us why we should vote for them, what their platform is and why we should place our lives in their trust. Only Joe Biden came close to that last night.
