Am I the only DUer who is looking forward to watching the primary debates

[Nye Bevan]

and picking the best candidate? There's an awful lot of huffing and puffing here about why candidate X is horrible or I couldn't consider voting for candidate Y, but why not go into the primaries with an open mind and see who the most impressive candidate is? Isn't that how it's supposed to work? Yes, I am leaning towards Hillary right now but who knows, that could change depending upon what happens in the primary campaigns.

[KingCharlemagne]

1. I'm really looking forward to watching the Republican debates and laughing my

fucking ass off (when I'm not ing, that is). 'Sarah Palin on crack' is how I think Republican Campaign 2016 is shaping up. I can't wait!

Since the Dem field is still uncertain (neither HRC nor Sanders have publicly declared, Sanders has yet to change his party registration, and Warren has issued several firm refusals), I'm not as certain. But with Sanders and HRC going head-to-head, I think it could be a very healthy thing for our democracy and for the Democratic Party.

[Johonny]

23. I can't wait until Sarah shows up in her fake campaign trail bus

on debate night. She will give that same speech she's given since they wrote it for her in 2008 and it will draw more television time than any of the eight idiots that will debate each other that night. She did that constantly during 2012. You think they clue in she was only grifting, but then they're all only grifting. I keep saying to myself, please, let Dr. Ben Carson run. Please force ever candidate on the stage with him to go down that rabbit hole with him.

I'm with you on the Dem primary. Until I know whose in I have zero expectations.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. Dunno, do you expect any of the candidates to change based simply on the debates?

And if they did suddenly change, would you trust them not to simply be 'Pulling a Netanyahu' in order to get you to vote for them, then immediately turning around and flipping you the bird post-election?

I always rather thought 'debates' were supposed to be introducing you to candidate stances if you were someone who didn't already know the candidates' stances. If you already know about the candidates, I don't see why the debates would change anything.

[Nye Bevan]

3. Not just the debates, but the whole campaigns.

The speeches, press conferences, how they perform under pressure, everything.

[2banon]

32. must be a youngin'.. :)

there will come a time, eventually, you'll say... 'hm, not so much'.

[Cleita]

4. Probably not, however, I'm one who is not.

I think of it as being hungry and going to the buffet looking for good nutritious food, but instead being served a selection of filler foods that are tasty but empty calories that leave you hungry again an hour later. The same old casseroles and desserts are served from the same old recipes that aren't brought out again until the next election after business as usual is resumed and we go hungry for another four years.

[liberal_at_heart]

5. +1

[djean111]

18. plus a million.

[99Forever]

27. A perfect analogy.

Campaign promises, especially of late, have indeed proved to be nothing but empty calories, with pretty much the same end product.

[LWolf]

6. I would look forward to

watching primary debates if they were structured well.

If all primary candidates got the exact same questions and the exact same number of questions and the exact same talk time, and if the post-debate media events simply allowed watchers and listeners to respond honestly to what they saw and heard, instead of immediately featuring talking heads to put the spin on and tell everyone what they ought to think...those debates would be useful to me.

Sitting through more debates in which the candidates I most want to hear from are marginalized does not help me pick the best candidates.

[liberal_at_heart]

8. exactly.

[winter is coming]

29. +1. Same goes for debates that aren't really debates.

If it's nothing more than an opportunity for candidates to regurgitate canned speeches in response to softballs, there's not much point in watching. And spare me the spinmeisters.

[2banon]

31. Hear! Here!

[2banon]

30. Agreed.

Sitting through more debates in which the candidates I most want to hear from are marginalized does not help me pick the best candidates.

Quite so, nor does it help any other interested voter.

That taken together with too frequent posited questions which are inane, repeating some meaningless trope, or simply otherwise intended to marginalize, by a moderator seriously lacking a level of acumen to ask questions as a service to the voting public rather than their corporate masters.

Until some serious changes are demanded by the public and made, it's just another dog and pony show. imo

[hrmjustin]

7. Debates are fun but I have chosen my candidate if she runs.

[one_voice]

9. I can't wait for the debates...

I love them.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. On the GOP side, yes.

It's cheaper and more fun that watching a demolition derby, without the noise and smell of burning rubber.

[immoderate]

11. Democratic primaries are painful. Republican primaries are very entertaining.

I early on picked a Walker surge. And it's come to fruition. But keep in mind that front running Republicans typically have a short shelf life. They can pass through rapidly. Bachman, Huckabee, Herman Cain were all front runners of a sort in past elections.

Cruz is already in, and puts himself into last place. Y'know, he's alone so far. But soon Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee, (again) Santorum, Christie, and more, -- to out crazy each other. Should be fun!

--imm

[HereSince1628]

12. That sort of assumes dem primary debates will be televised

I don't think that is any more certain than Bernie Sanders filing to run as a dem

[Cali_Democrat]

14. What makes you think the Dem primary debates might not be televised? nt

[HereSince1628]

19. Collapse of corporate media interest in the left

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. I wish someone could tell Hillary to get a voice coach.

I find her voice very irritating, it is grating and sharp.
Also would be nice if Obama showed her how to come across are relaxed and confident, instead of tense.
both Biden and Obama appear to be very comfortable in their own skin, Hillary does not.

[darkangel218]

15. I agree.

She makes long, too long pauses. She comes out as insincere.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. and fear based, which accounts for what we have said.

So strange, since Bill is just the opposite..relaxed, confident, and appears to enjoy being around people.

[Andy823]

16. I am

All this BS doing on about Hillary by the same crowd has been trashing president Obama on a daily basis for years, is really getting old. Like you I want to see them all in action, talking about the issues, and telling us how they would solve the problems we face now and in the future. Contrary to the BS that there will be NO primary, there will be one, and it's our chance to see how they all react to questions that concern all of us.

What it comes down to is that there will be a democrat nominee, we just don't know who right now, and that person will be running agains one of the idiots that are running for the republican nomination. The bottom line for me is simple. There is not way in hell we can afford to let a republican win. The Supreme Court is at stake, as his health care, women's rights, civil rights, climate change, and many other things. Is there anyone here who can actually say that any democrat that a wins the nomination would not be better than whoever wins the republican nomination? If there is then let them post some facts that would back them up on their claim. I will decide who I vote for in the primary when I see who actually runs. I will vote for the democratic nominee no matter who they are because I know there is no republican in the running that would be better on the issues that affect my life, and everyone's life in this country.

[morningfog]

20. I always enjoy the debates, but they have little to no

effect on my choice of candidates.

A candidate I disfavor cannot gain my favor in a debate. A candidate I like could falter or say something so stupid that it cause me to second guess, but that hasn't happened before.

What I particularly like about debates is that it is possible for a front runner to lose quite a bit of support and sink in the polls. It is one of the few moments in the race for an alternative to the front runner to inflict a serious blow. Which is why the front runners work so hard to closely manage who will participate as well as the topics.

[Dragonfli]

22. I am looking very much forward to it! It is throug the debates that the contenders reveal themselves

Much can be gleaned in this early stage about the candidates regarding whether they view the issues in a more traditional Democratic way or through the prism of the New Democratic movement that prefers to adopt conservative fiscal values while attempting to retain minorities and women that are constituencies with long ties to the party, but without the debates, it is harder to nail down where on the scale they fall. If we are indeed forced to choose a lesser of evils, it is most important to know where on the relative evil scale they fall on.

I do not expect to find anyone running that strongly adheres to the new deal, they great society and civil liberties of the more traditional Democratic platform, but perhaps some will be revealed that still fall more towards that than the newer more common Friedmanomics and neoliberal type trade policy paradigm.

I hope that my open mind will discover through the primary process which of the lesser evils represents only minor evil and also which may still be willing to fight for the safety net and against poverty (they only like to talk about the middle class and up in modern politics, but perhaps some will acknowledge at least that poverty exists and and is growing worse before moving on to their favored middle class during one or more of their answers.

I can't wait! I hope others feel the same and are also looking forward to it.

[Major Hogwash]

24. Well, if you think the debates are going to be interesting, you'd better buckle up.

"It's going to be a bumpy night!!"

Do I even have to tell you who is famous for saying that in a movie?

[2banon]

25. lOL!!

[Agnosticsherbet]

26. I look forward to the Democratic primary debates, and the General Campaign debates.

I do not intend to watch the Republican Party primary debates.

[rock]

28. Nope

Hope to see you there!

[Logical]

33. Many here will be mad if any other candidate calls out Hillary's issues! nt

[Nay]

34. Yeah, probably. Rather than watch, I usually read transcripts anyway since I find that

talking point/gotcha debates are pretty goddamn pointless, plus they raise my blood pressure because we don't have time for that shit.