NICK AND TIRED: Presidential debates are dipping into monotony

<p><em>PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM</em></p>

PHOTO COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

Nick Siano is a sophomore telecommunications and journalism major and writes "Nick and Tired" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Nick at ncsiano@bsu.edu.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders squared off in yet another debate this Feb. 11. PBS NewsHour co-anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff moderated, and were very lenient when enforcing strict limits, thereby allowing the two candidates ample opportunities to delve deeper into the issues. Unlike past debates, this one saw a great deal of focus on issues like race relations and police militarization - issues that are on the minds of minority voters of all ages.


The next scheduled debate is to take place in Flint, Mich., which has constantly been in the news in recent weeks. Though it’s almost a whole month away, the candidates did not bring it up as much as I thought they would. It’s a high-profile issue that the candidates touched on only twice - once as Sanders made a case for government’s role in restoring our broken infrastructure, and once from Hillary, who mentioned Flint alongside every other group of voters she has tested poorly with in her final statement.

On the topic of closing statements, if we really want to make America great again, we can start with getting rid of them. They’re proving to be less and less important as candidates from either side of the aisle simply rehash stump speeches. As we may recall, Chris Christie outed Marco Rubio for doing that multiple times during the last Republican debate.

Opening and closing statements prove to be absentminded grabs for votes, illustrated by Clinton cramming the LGBT community, residents of Flint, and union voters into a single statement. That statement translates from the language of politics to English easily: “Vote for me because I mentioned you, even though I’m treating you like a footnote.”

Despite this, Hillary debated in a very different fashion from what has been the norm. While Sanders became aggressive toward her early on, reminding her, “you’re not in the White House yet,” Clinton aimed to show the viewers that she and Sanders were not too different.

A very interesting approaching on the surface, but something that comes as no surprise after the New Hampshire primary. Clinton lost the female vote as well as the youth vote to Sanders - with women under 30 favoring him 4-1. If she can properly highlight the sentiments she and Sanders share, especially on social issues young voters are particularly concerned with, she wagers that young voters will reconsider their support.

PBS ran a smooth debate, but the two relied on canned responses and sound bites that are sure to go viral, but do nothing for a national discussion. My biggest qualms weren’t even with the candidates. I’m honestly growing tired of the format of these debates. Moderated town hall forums could be so much more meaningful and spark far more conversation.

Nick Siano

Sure, I hate opening and closing statements, I think you get that by now. But the three past debates have been so similar: opening statements, domestic issues, foreign issues and closing statements. Sanders starts strong, stumbles through international relations, and gives a tested closing response about education and taxing the top one percent. Clinton sulks through domestic issues as she is called out for flip-flopping, soars during foreign issues and then gives a robotic closer. It’s all the same.

If there is a winner of the debate, it’s Clinton. She has started poking holes in Sanders’ plans after her double-digit defeat in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Sanders is facing the challenge of making himself seem like a candidate for people other than those who are already steadfast supporters. These two have a lot more fight in them, but at this rate, viewers aren’t in for anything new.

From now until November, we will hear only the same canned answers to the same questions.

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