When you hear people talk about the presidential debates, think about what they talk about. Sure some people mention Trump's xenophobic views or Hillary's anti-wealth ones but the majority of what you hear about is the scandals. How Trump yelled at Hillary, and how she fought back. You hear about Trump's atrocious comments over the years and Hillary's email scandals. Talk about the debates is far more focused on the drama between and about the candidates then about the issues. And that is a dangerous path to go down.
Of course, it's important for us to know what Hillary and Trump are really about. We do need to know about their pasts and what they are really like when they think no-one is watching. But it becomes an issue when personalities and drama eclipse the actual issues of the election. Although Trump certainly comes across as more petty, both sides are certainly guilty of turning the issues into a way to hurl insults at the other candidate.
When a moderator asks a question, Hillary will remind the audience that Trump hasn't paid income tax in a troubling number of years. If foreign policy is brought up, Trump insists that Hillary and Obama are the ones who started ISIS. For better or for worse, mudslinging is a part of any presidential campaign, but now it seems to be taking over everything else.
No matter who wins, we don't really have a clear idea of how they will run the country. Sure Trump always talks about building a wall and kicking out "bad hombres" but we don't know if he's all talk or is actually planning on doing such drastic things. Meanwhile, Hillary keeps saying that she will make college debt disappear for everyone, which although sounds great, is beyond idealistic. And neither candidate really says how they will accomplish their lofty goals, just that they want to.
This lack of information on the issues is problematic, but we are all so caught up in the election drama, that we seem to have forgotten what elections are really for. Let's hope America makes the right choice, and that we end up with who we think we're voting for.
