AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS AND ELECTIONS
Expectations for the Debate
What to Look For Going In
In about an hour, I’ll be tuning in to watch the first presidential debate for the general election of 2024. Joe Biden versus Donald Trump. I understand there are a lot of people who don’t want either of these guys. We’re way overdue for a generational change. One of the reasons I considered voting for Trump in 2016 (don’t worry — I know Trump, and it was a passing thought) was I detested the idea of yet another Bush or Clinton in the White House. Couldn’t we do better?
Well, clearly we can’t. The American Constitution, and the dynamics of American elections, means that there will only be two real choices available. If we had ranked-choice voting, we’d have a better chance to reflect popular opinion and structural forces that would drive candidates to the center. But we don’t — yet. I hope that will be accomplished if the Republican Party goes down in flames this cycle and the Democratic Party institutionalizes the required reforms before it self-destructs (in about ten years' time). Meanwhile, we are in a system that rewards appeals to the extremes and demonizes the opposition.
And yet — how is this even close? Before this debate, the polls are essentially meaningless. One-third of the country will vote for the Democrat…
