The dis heard around the world stole center stage from former Vice President Joe Biden when he was discussing his universal healthcare plan at the Democratic Primary Debate Thursday.
Healthcare in America is a major issue. 44 million people are uninsured, according to the Public Broadcast Station.
Swaying back and forth on what his healthcare policy would entail, Biden dug himself into a hole, one that former Houston mayor Julian Castro would not let him leave.
“Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?” Castro asked a visibly annoyed Biden.
The two bantered back and forth for a minute until the moderator cut the altercation and the voice of South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeig rang out, “This reminds everyone why they can’t stand Washington.”
The third debate was full of head-scratching altercations throughout its three hour runtime, leaving the question of whether these debates serve their original purpose.
The debates have strayed away from a time when the candidates discussed what their administrations’ policies would bring to the country and instead focuses on who can make the biggest promise that they won’t be able to keep.
Former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke took home first place for biggest promise when the topic of gun control was brought up.
“Hell yes, we’re going to take [away] your AR-15 [rifle], your AK-47 [assault rifle] . . . ” the El Paso native said.
It is a stance that many gun reform supporters agree with. But without any actual plan of how this would be achieved, it’s just more political rhetoric.
Entrepreneur and lawyer Andrew Yang served as another example of the current debates’ problem when he pushed the “Promise Agenda” to another level, saying that for the next year he will give ten families $1,000 every month.
The idea is a part of his platform called “The Freedom Dividend” that would give a universal income to all Americans.
A handful of countries have implemented similar systems, but Yang’s explanation of the proposal on stage was so poor that it led to laughter from his opponents.
Some might argue that rhetoric like, these examples, is not a huge deal because a lot of Americans skip the debates already, but that is far from the truth.
ABC reported that Thursday’s debate pulled in 14 million viewers, equal to the average viewership of the 2019 World Series.
Debates of this caliber can sway voters’ opinions, especially those who are not yet decided on which candidate they are voting for.
It has always been apparent that televised debates, whether they are primary or presidential, carry a large amount of influence on undecided voters who tune in.
Then-presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and
Richard Nixon first squared off live in 1960 and when it came time to vote, Kennedy won the popular vote by only 0.2%.
Six percent of voters said that the debate was the reason why they voted the way they did, according to the History Channel’s website.
It is drastic poll-deciding numbers like that which sets the debates up on such a high pedestal that candidates feel like they need to talk themselves up more than normal.
The next presidential debate is next month. In the meantime, the candidates will let the campaign train roll and keep Americans hopes up high.
