When Franklin Pierce was a representative of New Hampshire in his early political career, he eloquently spoke to 150 Democrats of the state legislature on behalf of President Jackson's reelection. Endorsing his policies and suggesting the idea of a national convention to choose a vice presidential candidate. The Washington Globe reported on his speech and his suggestion.As a result, it grew nationally. The media had a hand along with the eloquent speech of Pierce, and the first national party convention was held in Baltimore in May 1832 and continues to this day.

Little did Pierce, the 14^th President of the United States, realize the media's effect on a political campaign. Last week the nation had an opportunity to hear from the many Democratic candidates running for the job of the 46^th President. The five high profile media reporters from national news networks mediated the debate between 20 candidates. Ten on Wednesday night and ten on Thursday night. It was a prime-time event that filled the networks and social media with memes and sound bites of the debates. Commentary from all newspapers, news reports, talk shows, and radio stations highlighted the two days choosing the winners and losers in various reasons.

However, the election is 490 days away and the twenty plus candidates are rewriting their platforms daily. With the media dissecting every word and syllable it is hard to take any one of the candidates seriously. Most voters didn't watch these debates because there were too many and not one candidate can come out on top if their limit of a response is less than 2 minutes.

It seems running for President has become a business and not an aspiration to change the status quo and make the nation a better place. The billions of dollars that are raised for a political candidate is staggering. What happens to the contributions that came from the people that donate their hard-earned money to some of these candidates? Candidates that more than likely will not be invited to the next debate.

According to Factcheck.org, "Candidates do sometimes end up with surplus funds, though, particularly if they're incumbent members of Congress who decide not to run for another term. State and local governments have their own rules, but those running for federal office — including presidential candidates — must abide by strict FEC guidelines when it comes to their extra campaign money. They can donate an unlimited amount to a charity or political party. They can also, within limits, make contributions directly to other candidates. A campaign committee can give up to $2000 per election to each candidate. If the committee is converted into a political action committee, the limit jumps to $5000 – but to be established as a PAC, the committee would have to be in existence for six months, receive contributions from 50 donors, and make contributions to five recipients."

I personally believe that debates are an important part of an election, but not at this stage of the game. We are not going to find that eloquent speaker in a 45-second closing statement. Time to learn and listen about our candidates is when they show up in your district and hold a town hall and you can ask the questions that matter most to you.

I don't want to speed date my selection for the next president and neither should you. If this is how the process is going to be from now on, many will be discouraged and overwhelmed before the first primary votes are cast. It is a long journey from declaring to run for president and getting elected. The circus that took place during the 2016 election cycle cannot be the bar we set for our future elections. I can't watch a group of adults talk over each other and throw innuendos or bring up past discretions to win.