the debates will be remembered for one thing only: the year that interrupting became legitimate.
john mclaughlin must be laughing his a** off.
afaik, his was the first political show to feature a bunch of people rudely talking over each other in a crass attempt to win by claiming the most airtime, rather than by having a more compelling argument.
over the years, that style spread to other shows, but i think these debates have become a milestone in making this something legitimate, even NECESSARY, in a formal, presidential/vice-presidential debate context.
it's one thing to have the pundits arguing. they have nothing to peddle but their opinions anyway, so this behavior should perhaps not be surprising.
but to have evolved our debates -- nominally a key method to test presidential mettle, to see who would really make the best president -- into a test to see who can be most effectively interrupt and talk over the other person is something of a watershed moment in the history of presidential/vice-presidential debates.
we can cheer our guy for having done well in this brave new debate world, and i think rmoney came off as the most obnoxious, though these days perhaps that's what america wants, who knows.
but in the long run, this style of debate will only help keep more dignified people away and attract people who are just plain uncivil.
