VP candidates dance around the issues

From Behind the Lens By Ryan Smith

Dick Cheney and John Edwards showed up to the same old song and dance of Tuesday’s Vice Presidential debate dressed for the Sadie Hawkins.

Both candidates were decked out in black blazers, blue shirts, red ties and a tired, predictable stance on issues that everyone has heard before but nobody really understands.

The two candidates dipped, twirled and box-stepped around moderator Gwen Ifill’s questions for 90 minutes, leaving the audience with only more questions that will have to wait to be answered until, at least, Friday’s town hall debate.

Like a scene from the end of a teenie-bopper movie, where all the dancers spontaneously participate in an uncannily choreographed dance—the candidates, moderator and audience could have all waltzed along to the cookie cutter responses exchanged at Tuesday’s debate.

As predicted, Cheney exuded power and control while failing to say anything insightful about domestic policy and having everything to say about Iraq. Bush and Cheney are a one-two punch on the issue of Iraq and there is no point in trying to suggest otherwise. The voice of opposition has been drowned out by the drums of war on terror.

Looking to take the spotlight off Cheney, Edwards quickly cut in to offer support of what he said was Kerry’s unfaltering support on the safety of America. Edwards squared off against criticism about Kerry’s capability to lead America’s troops past the perils of terrorism while stepping on Cheney’s toes about his involvement with Haliburton.

’Round and ’round we go.

Those of you tired of watching the candidates putting quarters in the jukebox for the same Iraqi tune, domestic policy—or the lack there- of—briefly snuck into the top 40 countdown during the debate.

Can you name the candidate’s stance?

Health care, social security, unemployment, and education reverberate in your ears but I dare you to describe how and why each candidate stands on either side of those issues.

During the Roger Tatarian Symposium at Fresno State on Friday, public relations experts told audience members that voters simply don’t want to hear the candidates explain their stances on the issues. What is more important, however, is image and the sound bite.

Do politicians really believe the voters to be that stupid?

Are the debates really just a mindless spectacle designed to boost television ratings rather than improve opinion ratings?

When Cheney said “the best way to get rid of poverty is to get people jobs,” did he really think that voting Americans were going to race to the polls in jubilant relief that the Bush-Cheney ticket had discovered the cure for unemployment.

It’s time for the voting public to take the candidates by the hand and lead them around the issues. The last chance for voters to take back control of the election is during this Friday’s town hall presidential debate.

If voters really want the candidates to know they don’t just want to hear sound bites, now is the chance to really find out how the candidates plan to make good on the same old song and dance that we’ve heard over and over again.