Ralph Nader and Bob Barr ought to consider a national debate tour like the famed Lincoln Douglas debates. Both are making the case that they should be included. Most likely they will be excluded by the Presidential Commission for Debates and such a tour might compliment their efforts better than a gamble to shoot for the Big Show.
I'm sure McCain and Obama would struggle on some level with either opponent. Nader stakes many claims in the American Polis and Barr also has a claim to a national spotlight more so than the Greens and Constitutional Party. To be sure, Barr and Nader should participate in any such third party debate, but one can certainly appreciate their tactics and goals in the matter.
Barr and Nader could create a credible tour throughout the States that would bolster the profile and character of the national discourse. At the very least Nader, should be having legacy issues and Barr is still a relatively young man.
By neglecting the heightened perspective of a grand dialogue they both risk obscurity, scorn and ostracism. The new generations are keen on new technologies and grassroots efforts. It's high time to consider their thirsts and ambitions, major media be damned !
The expanded effort by Barr to reach the civil liberty communities and the cross checking on foreign policy would allow both men to focus and carry out major salvos at the bad guys. Such a move now would certainly be blocked by the inane coverage and hoopla of the conventions, let alone the Olympics, and would probably spook the traditional campaign types in either camp. But if the major print media were included and drawn in it might shine a little ray of hope into this otherwise dismal march the American people are in for in the next 90 days.
Leave a comment