ArpitGarg's Weblog

It’s that time of the year again. In US, the primaries are going on to elect respective party nominee for Presidential Election in November. US elect president directly unlike India where MP’s are elected and then they choose a PM from among themselves.

What I like about US system is the Presidential Election Debates. Candidates come together for televised debates. They present their view and are questioned by other candidates. These debates bring out the real inside the candidate. In India we don’t even know what the projected PM really is. They just do election rallies, where they speak one way with no one to question them.

In US Presidential Election Debates, they are brought to shreds. Their policies, beliefs, everything is dissected. They are made to answer what they stand for. This helps people choose a nominee. But what it does most importantly is, take off the masks. Candidates can’t hide behind a well organized media campaign, they are left to defend for themselves.

This election season, which is unique for US in a lot of ways. Frontrunners for both Democrats and Republicans are people who criticize their own party and party men. Unlike earlier, there is a race to project oneself as an outsider. And debates let them do it better.

Debates help admit old mistakes and set the history straight. But for these debates, Republicans would not have accepted that Iraq war was a mistake. They would never have admitted that current ISIS grew out of that mistake. They would never have admitted that country is under 19 trillion dollars of debt. They would never have admitted that American Dream for Americans is dead and need to be revived. Debates helps admit and address.

I have always believed a leader should be a good negotiator. When you are on an international stage, a lot of deals are broken just based on the body language and talks. Here is where the debates are helpful to filter.

Also it’s too much fun to watch elders taking each other for the cleaners.