Is Anyone Listening? When are there too many debates?
Sunday there will be another presidential primary debate. Yes, yet another round of witnessing democracy at work, history in the making. More likely the GOP debate in Florida simply another round of filling the 24/7 news cycle, venerating the host's importance, and seeking "sounds bites" for a small class of pundits? Voters are invited to watch, but only at the margin. The 2007 primary cycle seems more about special interest sponsors, hype, and new technical possibilities.
When do candidates find time to campaign, let along reflect. Simply put, there are too many debates. Even journalists and bloggers observed in Matt Towrey's Inside The Numbers: Too Many Candidates, Too Many Debates.
And here's the real kicker: our surveys show that virtually no one is watching these little gems. So all the rooms filled with spinmeisters and all the column inches wasted on these non-debate debates are a relative waste of time.
