Monday, October 1, 2012
Extra Credit--It's Debatable!
This Wednesday evening from 8:00 to 9:30 the two candidates for the office of President will have a debate about domestic policy. The debate will take place in Denver, Colorado, which is a "swing state" (one of your recent election terms). The moderator, Jim Lehrer, will ask the two candidates questions about the economy, health care, and the role of government in American society. I encourage you to watch at least fifteen minutes of the debate to get a sense of the candidates' perspectives and how a debate works in general (several major networks and cable networks will carry the debates--it's worth switching to see the ways in which different channels choose to broadcast the event). If you are interested, watch at least fifteen minutes about the debate and then write a brief comment here about the following:
1. What questions do you have about the candidates' ideas?
2. What questions would you like to ask of both the candidates?
3. What stood out as important or surprising about the debate format in general?
4. Anything else you would like to add?
As a reminder, this is NOT an opportunity for you to voice your support of one candidate or another--please keep your comments focused on questions and the important elements of the debate as a way for the candidates to convey their ideas.
Also, remember to sign in as "Anonymous" and to sign your FIRST name, then a comma, then Nekrosius (for example--Frodo, Nekrosius).
Enjoy the debate!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
I was shocked in the debate when Romney said that his plan was not to cut taxes for the rich but to help people who need jobs and give money to the poor. also I wanted to point that we spent 20 mins talking about the color of tie Obama and Romney would were. Romney wore red for fierce and ready to take charge of problems while Obama wore a light blue tie for showing that he can take charge with the problems of america but in a nicer and more unaggressive attack.
(just a rough thought)
- Cole, Nekrosuis
1.)I think that something that I would like to know is why Obama keeps on saying that Romney is going to have a 5 trillion dollar tax cut and why when Romney says that he will not raise taxes and make a 5 trillion dollar tax-cut and Obama keeps on holding that against him when that has been proven wrong. also I found it interesting how Romney and Obama both would argue with Jim about finishing on the one subject of taxes.
2.)one of the things that I would like to ask both candidates is if they had considered lowering the value of items and then increasing the taxes on billionaires so that those billionaires will not be able to buy all of the supplies and then wait until the value of money goes back up again and then those billionaires can sell the goods that they bought for more money than it was worth originally.
3.) well what I found interesting was the fact that neither candidate would explain what they wanted to do about taxes and instead would say that the other candidate was making a 5 trillion to 130 billion dollar tax-cut. I personally would want to vote for the candidate that explained what he wanted to do about tax-cuts and it (t he plan) would appeal to me. it does not help me (if i could vote) as a *voter* if one would say "well he is making a 5 trillion dollar tax-cut so this is why you should vote for me" and the other candidate would say "well he put us 130 trillion dollars bankrupt so vote for me."
4.) What I do not under stand is why both candidates ( yes, i know i said this already) wont explain what they want to do and are just saying that the other is/would just wast trillions of dollars.
--Clemente Nekrosius
I would like to ask governor Romney exactly what taxes he would cut and which loopholes he would close. President Obama is bringing up "arithmetic" that says Mr. Romney's tax plans will cost 5 trillion dollars over the next ten years. Mr. Romney denies this but doesn't bring up exactly why that isn't true. I would like to see a mathematical argument on the part of Mr. Romney's tax plan. I also thought that it was interesting that Mr. Romney wore a red (republican color) tie and that Mr. Obama wore a blue (democratic color) tie. I thought that they could have been less partisan and more creative. I would also like for these nominees to dodge things less and be more straight with what they are saying. Neither nominee is bringing up the cause of the crash as well. I think that is surprising. Good night.
Harrison, Nekrosius 1-2
Something that stood out in the debate format is that there is a time limit. Maybe the candidate wants to tell more of their idea. Even though there is a time limit, usually the candidate went over the limit. Sometimes the candidates held grudges against each other, for example when President Obama said that Romney was going to make a five trillion dollar tax cut but Romney denied it, Obama kept on saying that Governor Romney was going to make a five trillion dollar tax cut. Another thing is that when Obama said that Governor Romney was going to add 2 trillion dollars to the military budget even though the military did not ask for it, Romney never denied it. Also Romney said that he was not going to increase tax rates to the middle class yet he said that the upper class is perfectly fine in this economy which means that he is not going to raise taxes on the rich. How is he going to cut the deficit if he is CUTTING taxes and increasing spending.
David, Nekrosius
1. What is wrong with "Obamacare"?
2. For Mitt Romney, why do you want to keep the soldiers in Afghanistan? For Barrak Obama, why do you want to bring the soldiers home from Afghanistan? For Mitt Romney, what would you replace "Obamacare" with?
3. Mitt Romney wants to replace all of "Obamacare". I found it surprising that they only had two minutes to answer questions.
4. I thought they weren't very productive talking about the tax cuts and deficits. They only explained what they would do not an exact answer.
~~Terrance, Nekrosius
1.) One question that I would like to ask Romney is that he promises to get rid of, or at least lower, the debt. How can he do this when he also wants to do a lot of stuff that will take a lot of money (improving education, bringing in oil from Alaska, cracking down on China when they "try to cheat", hiring a hundred thousand new math and science teazchers)? Generally, I think that he would be expected to raise taxes, but he has made it very clear that he will not raise taxes on the rich, and also won't raise taxes on the middle class, and even says he wants to lower taxes on the middle class.
2.) What are their policies about green energy?
3.) What I found surprising and a bit interesting was that they seemed to want to accuse each other rather than simply answer the questions.
4.)I noticed that the candidates had ways of "dodging the question", or "pivoting". One "pivot" that I noticed was when they were discussing health care, and Romney said that Obama "...spent years working on obamacare instead of jobs" and then talked for a minute about jobs.
David Nekrosius
Anonymous said...
1) Mitt Romney said" I will get rid of PBS in order to save money." Wouldn't people lose their jobs when Mitt Romney gets rid of PBS? That would create a whole other problem by increasing the unemployment rate even though the government is saving some money by eliminating PBS.
2) When I go to school through college, I will be paid more than a person who does not go to college. Although President Obama and Governor Romney want to distribute the money to everyone, wouldn't that be unfair to people who worked harder than others?
3) Mitt Romney and President Obama did not stay with in the two minute debate time.
4) As I said earlier I was surprised that Mitt Romney would get rid of PBS which would cause people to lose their jobs. I was also surprised that Mitt Romney would want to get rid of Obamacare and make something else of his own creation to replace Obamacare.
Victoria,Nekrosius
1.
Why does Obama say that you need to have arguments among democrats and republicans to get to an answer? Wouldn't it be better just to talk through it as a team to come up with a solution rather than take sides and argue?
2.
For Romney and Obama: Why did you say things like "one thing that I and Obama/Romney have in common is" or "one thing that we both agree on" when you're trying to convince people to vote for one side or the other? Also, why nod at each other while you disagree at the candidates points?
3.
I thought it was surprising about the format of the debate was that Jim Lehrer gave so much more time to Obama to discuss his points than Romney. Also, I was surprised that Jim and the candidates interrupted each other so many times. I thought that each segment was timed or something. One last thing that I was surprised by was that the candidates wore almost identical suits(except for their ties). I thought that they would want to be more identifiable.
4.
I was interested in what the candidates body language/gestures/expressions were. Obama looked down more and at the moderator more than at the camera. Romney looked more at Obama and at the camera. Obama looked a bit nervous. Romney was smiling at Obama. Obama did more with his hands and less with his tone of voice. Romney did less with his hands and more with his tone of voice.
Very exciting!
Molly, Nekrosius
One thing I would like to ask President Obama is what he'll do if Obamacare ultimately fails. One thing I would like to ask Romney is why he openly supports coal-burning and finite resources when pretty much everybody knows that that's going to "destroy the earth". Does he just want to differ himself from Barack Obama in every way he possibly can?
Well, maybe not, because both candidates seem to be avoiding the question of just how much they're going to cut taxes. In the beginning, Mitt Romney kept on denying that he would cut (as much as) five trillion dollars, and Barack Obama kept on denying the denial.
Even though there was a time limit, both candidates seemed eager to be heard. Romney was a little more relentless than Obama, because he just plowed right on over the mediator when he tried to interrupt. Barack Obama was a little more like, "just let me make this one point and then I'll be done!" That one point went on for about two minutes. That surprised me a little, but I guess I should have been expecting it.
I was also surprised about how while the other candidate spoke, the former candidate would sort of smile at them and bob their head up and down. Both of them. At the wrong times. Were they even listening?
Please excuse my non-political- minded questions and observations.
Jennifer, Nekrosius
1. A question I would have for both candidates is why does Governor Romney want to keep the troops in Afghanistan even though we have nothing left to achieve there?
2. Why did Romney keep on drilling " Obamacare" in at every chance?
3. I thought the format of the debate was a good one. President Obama got more time to speak, but that is probably because he is the President. Both men always cut off the moderator.
4. They were really putting the other guy down. It makes sense because they have to win over the voters.
-- Samy, Nekrosius
NOTE TO ALL WHO READ THIS: I only saw the very beginning, the first couple of points.
1) Why is red republican and blue democratic?
2) President Obama looked tired. He looked left and downwards, spoke mostly to the moderator, sometimes to the cameras, once in a while to Romney. He looked down while listening to Romney. Romney watched Obama as he spoke, spoke directly to Obama, once in a while to the cameras. Romney would tell Obama “This is what you’re doing”. Obama tells Jim/the Audience/the Camera “This is what HE’S doing” Which brings me to my next point.
3) I think Romney is a better SPEAKER than Obama; he would throw in personal things, about Obama’s anniversary, about a lady with a baby in her arms that grabbed his arm and said “My husband’s gone through 3 jobs in 4 months and has just lost this most recent one. We’ve just lost our house. Can you help us?”, about his 5 sons and how they sometimes seem to think repeating something will make it true, etc, always bringing it back to family.
4) Essentially, from the –very- little I watched, Obama and Romney spent a while arguing over a 5 trillion dollar tax cut was actually a 5 trillion dollar tax cut, because after all, “it won’t add to the debt, so what’s there to complain about”.
5) Others have already said that it’s weird how they keep nodding at each other, saying that oh, we both share this common goal. I think that that’s somewhat tact, showing that they’re reasonable men, that they’re not just opposing everything the other candidate says.
--Erica, Nekrosius
Post a Comment