Newt's very (very) great idea

By Election Day in 2008, I don't know about you but I felt the debates were getting tedious. You can't not watch them, but they are almost always disappointing. Watching Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) debate then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was challenging. McCain blew every opportunity he had when it came to Obama, and Obama was glib as a used car salesman.

During the Presidency5 debate in Orlando, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said if he was to win the Republican nomination, he would challenge President Barack Obama to7 Lincoln-Douglas style debates. 

That would eliminate snarky moderators, questions that have been asked (and resolved) repeatedly of select candidates and the ability of some candidates to completely mask their real beliefs. After all, compare Obama the candidate to Obama the president. What happened to going through that budget line-by-line and all those jobs? Obama was promoted by legacy media as a wizard when it came to the economy. 

People will watch debates anyway, but it would really be useful to Americans to see the real candidates and it would be fairer to the candidates to eliminate moderators who (yes, they can!) may have a horse in the race we don't know about. That would eliminate one or two candidates getting asked all the really hard questions.

I think Newt's idea was great.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Sept. 27. 2011)