As we move closer to election day, we will be seeing three debates between presidential candidates and one between potential vice-presidents. (OK, one is already Vice President and the other is already President.)
Since we have been discussing the quality of our information, I am curious about what you saw on the debates and your thoughts about the following story:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/viewart/20121003/NEWS03/310030029/Obama-Romney-clash-first-debate
When I read this story, I immediately wondered what you, as class members, thought about it. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the quality of reporting here and the content of the debates.
This is getting exciting!
See you on Tuesday. :)
I didn't get to listen to most of the debate, but what I did sit down to see was hard to pay attention to. Much as I said in my post on Canvas a couple of weeks ago, I have trouble listening to people argue and interrupt each other. When Mr. Romney talked over people (as I heard myself and as was mentioned in that article), I was ready to turn the TV off. Overall, I wasn't impressed with much of what was said, but then again I was in and out of the room often and didn't get to follow most of the trains of debate. I mostly enjoyed watching body language, and I was surprised at how little the candidates looked at each other, even during the heated accusations and targeted tirades. Also, maybe this only bothered me, but it seemed like both candidates blinked practically every second, and that was almost enough to distract me from what they were saying towards the end!
ReplyDeleteAfter listening to most of the debate. I found it interesting how different the candidate's points of view really are. It was interesting to hear the different resolutions to the problems that the US faces. Both Romney and Obama say that they want to improve America and provide more jobs, lower taxes, better education system, natural gas, oil, medicaid/medicare ect, but I have a hard time picturing what each candidate's plan really is because they never really come out and explain or elaborate on their own ideas. I really wish more information would have been given based on their "plan." It really was hard for me to understand a portion of the debates where they are throwing around numbers and deficits. I do like the fact that during the debates that each candidate has the opportunity to correct his opoinents accusations and explain their ideas. As a listener, I really didn't appreciate the interruptions, I was shocked that even though the time was up, both candidate were disrespectful and kept taking more time, to me it would have been more impressive to stay in the time frame rather then being disrespectful. It will be interesting to hear from them again in the next debate.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a chance to watch the debate. When I woke up the next morning I skimmed Facebook. It shocked me the kind of responses that were being posted. Whether the person was a democrat or a republican, neither side was being very respectful. I can't help but wonder if this is because this is the example that is being set for us as a nation. Instead of analyzing the "facts" it’s about tearing each other down.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather. I have read articles about the candidates. They talk about all the "plans" they have, but never really go into detail. How can we make an intelligent decision without actually knowing what their "plans" are? It seems like we are voting for the best verbal fighter.
I was also amazed at how many people on Facebook has scathing and unhelpful opinions about the debate. And I also agree that I'd love to actually see someone's plan laid out before I vote, rather than just making a guess based on the best aggressor.
DeleteOk - for the second time because my laptop decided to install updates and I lost my entire post that I was just ready to save - ugh.
ReplyDeleteI talked about how I didn't get to see the debate, but I went on to Facebook and agree with what has been said about the opinions and bias that is being posted there. I also have did a lot of research in order to try and understand exactly what the candidates are talking about because I agree again with what has been posted that they have stated they have a "plan," but exactly what that "plan" is well is a total mystery. The candidates talked about improvement, increasing/decreasing taxes, education, Medicaid/Medicare, jobs, energy such as oil and gas. I agree with Heather in how numbers and statistics are thrown around, but where are they coming from and what do they mean? I also agree with Rachel about the arguing and disrupting, and with Heather when she talked about how when their time was up they continued to talk, which is sooo disrespectful - always trying to have the last word or get their comment across.
When Romney mentioned his point of view on the healthcare system, I feel a little on both sides of the fence. He wants to make people purchase health insurance. This will solve the uninsured issue. After working in a hospital and seeing numbers being lost as income from the uninsured patients unable to pay bills. It made me realize that the hospital is a business, and having people insured is job security to myself. So I can see how is would boost hospitals to make sure everyone is insured by law. But, I can also see the other side of things. If I were to purchase a health insurance coverage plan, it may include a very high deductible, high premiums, and incapability of affording such luxury. Living in a rural area, it also made me think there is very few jobs that offer health insurance, there a large amount of very, very small business. What would the affect have on the small business and uninsured in my small rural area?
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