Coffee Break: Debate might cure election-year angst

Clarissa French is editor of the Springfield Business Journal.

I am sick.

I have a horrible, lingering ailment called election-year angst, and there's no cure. It just has to run its debilitating course until November.

As this presidential election year and its endless, worthless, high-dollar excuse for communication i.e. campaign advertising grind on, I find myself wondering Why?

Why, when we have broadcast media that reaches every corner of this nation, is the most important decision this nation faces being based on slick advertising, third-party lies, five-second sound bites and 20-second pop-culture spin?

I want debates.

I want debates now.

I want debates every week from now until November.

I want to see how these guys think on their feet. I want to see how they respond to pressure; how they defend their proposals against their opponent's criticism; and whether either of them has anything to offer beyond a slogan, an image and a string of IOUs to their special interest buddies.

I don't want to hear anybody's promises that they're going to make health care affordable. I want each candidate to tell how they're going to make it affordable.

I don't want to hear promises about job creation. I want each candidate to tell me what kind of jobs, at what kind of pay, with what kind of training, and what it will cost me as a taxpayer.

It won't be soon enough for me, but the first presidential debate is slated for Sept. 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.

According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the moderator will be Jim Lehrer, anchor and executive editor of "The News Hour" on PBS.

The first debate will focus primarily on domestic policy.

The first vice presidential debate will be held Oct. 5 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, moderated by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent of "The News Hour" and moderator of "Washington Week" on PBS.

This debate will cover both domestic and foreign policy.

The second presidential debate will be held Oct. 8 at Washington University in St. Louis, moderated by Charles Gibson, co-anchor of ABC News "Good Morning, America." The second debate will be held as a town meeting and citizens will pose questions to the candidates.

This should be particularly of interest to Missourians as the citizen questions will come from residents of the St. Louis metropolitan statistical area.

The third presidential debate will be held Oct. 13 at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, chief Washington correspondent and moderator of "Face the Nation." This debate will focus primarily on foreign policy.

In the debates there will be no opening statements, but each candidate will have a two-minute closing statement. The order of questioning and closing statements will be determined by coin toss, and the debates are limited to 90 minutes each. All debates will begin at 8 p.m. our time and will play out in front of live audiences.

Four debates, in my opinion, is not nearly enough. But I'll settle for what I can get.

If you want to make an informed decision in November, don't rely on campaign ads. Go to the candidates' Web sites, www.georgewbush.com and www.john kerry.com, check out their platforms, then see how well they stand on them starting Sept. 30.