Obama voiced dissatisfaction with the current format of the debate, claiming that the moderator focused on trivial issues for far too long. He had a valid point: In the most recent outing, the moderator claimed that the economy was the number one issue on peoples’ minds, yet didn’t frame a question about it until nearly an hour in.
Here’s the thing: Never identify a problem without posing a solution. Obama made the mistake of doing just that, and Clinton–hewing to her claim of being a problem solver–immediately presented one. She suggested a free-form, no-moderator debate, similar to the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Obama turned down the notion in short order. No surprise there: A front-runner, generally speaking, has nothing to gain from a debate and everything to lose. Unfortunately, it brings a truth into focus: There’s going to be any number of times when a world leader is in a challenging face-to-face and there’s no play book to follow. Obama puts forward the notion that he can win over ferocious opponents of the United States or bridge the gap between parties with his oratory and personal charm, but he balks at facing Clinton in a free-for-all?
Interestingly, the “West Wing” comparisons continue. In the seventh season debate episode, Santos faced Vinick in a debate and that time it was Vinick who suggested that debate rules be tossed aside. In that situation, Santos took him up on it. He welcomed it. As Obama should have.
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