Debates in Pennsylvania? Lincoln/Douglas Revisited.
Will there be more debates in primary season? Pressure on the campaigns to debate in the long lull before the Pennsylvania primary will be forthcoming. An opening salvo was issued by Bill Whalen in the San Francisco Observer today.
This fall marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the fabled Lincoln-Douglas debates - a series of seven one-on-one encounters across the state of Illinois which, for two months in 1858, settled not only a very contentious Senate contest but also catapulted Abraham Lincoln into the subsequent presidential race of 1860. Why not do the same for the Pennsylvania primary and get Clinton and Barack to stop fussing and feuding and instead talk abut real issues?
Whalen offers a schedule of seven debates for the seven Pennsylvania markets, paralleling the seven encounters in Illinois.
He also suggests formats and content. For example, "Keep the national media off the stage and let local reporters ask the questions." Breaking the stranglehold of 24/7s "debate ownership" seems unlikely in the short term, but is a laudable goal.
I would add: why not hold one or more of these debates in North Carolina and Indiana. Together there are more delegates at stake than in PA.
