IN electoral contests, whether here in the Philippines or overseas, candidates’ debates are necessary to find out their plans of government and their respective demeanor.
One such scheduled debate is that of the Republican presidential debate in the United States, now on its third staging but which is repeatedly boycotted by the former president, Donald J. Trump.
Trump, like our own former president Duterte is flamboyant, sometimes arrogant and often foul-mouthed and condescending.
But note, he is still very popular among American voters and, wonder of all wonders, he is leading in the polls over other potential presidential nominees.
Why are so many American voters enamored to him when he did not register significant achievements, especially to the US economy?
And yet, despite several criminal and civil cases lodged against him he is damn popular. What if he gets convicted in one of the cases? Would he still be allowed to serve as president?
These are some of the pestering questions that need to be answered before the 2024 US presidential elections.
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In debates, the electorate can ascertain the sincerity of each candidate, the depth of their knowledge of the state affairs and the impact of their respective programs.
In these vocal exercises, the voters can determine whether the candidates are adept at interpreting the pertinent issues of the day.
The debaters are gauged not only by their eloquence and mastery of the issues but by their conciseness and sincerity of their arguments. Some come prepared but others stumble in the middle of the debate.
Some hot-tempered debaters are frowned upon by moderate audiences and are often spurned in the elections. Still some resort to personal insults, irrelevant arguments coupled with yelling and ad hominems.
Definitely, debates are needed prior to any election for these clarify the issues at hand and give the voters the best choices.