I saw Gary Hart on CSpan the other night; he was before some highbrow audience bemoaning the fact that debates reduce candidates’ positions to slogans. It’s true as far as it goes, to a point, but:
1. Not if done well – the 2000 debates were quite substantive.
2. Except McCain, GOP politicos don’t usually feel the need, preening before audiences who eat this stuff up, to complain that their elegant ideas are too complex to be grasped by the common man. Could you see Bush or Reagan doing that?
3. I bet John Edwards knows that you can cram plenty of substance into a 90-second sound bite.