A recent op-ed piece in the Boston Globe, “What is left unsaid” argued that “voters deserve a deeper discussion” on the major foreign policy concerns affecting our country, and I agree. But unlike the authors, I believe that the lack of discussion on these issues is a symptom of our media, not a diagnosis of the presidential candidates.
Candidates are not “evading these issues,” they are at the mercy of debate moderators like Wolf Blitzer, who during the Jan 21st CNN debate spent 30 minutes fueling superficial bickering over non-issues before being asked by the candidates to refocus the debate on policy. When the candidates are finally asked a legitimate policy question, they are forced to answer in a minute or less. This leaves candidates no choice but to espouse poll-tested talking points. The substance is out there, we just can’t expect it to be spoon-fed to us by the mainstream media.
By placing the blame on the candidates while not holding the media responsible for turning our elections into a Jerry Springer inspired beauty pageant, substantive answers to vital policy questions will continue to be “left unsaid.”
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