-
James Verini on the first-ever Presidential debate in Kenya, held last week, and Kenyan tribal politics: http://nyr.kr/UIT35V
Photograph: AP.
-
Whither French Cinema? Richard Brody on the debate that is roiling the French film industry and its followers: http://nyr.kr/S6RoHc
Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty.
-
An Ode to Debates→
This democracy may have ninety-nine problems; debates aren’t one: http://nyr.kr/SLu4fz
-
A Foreign-Policy Mystery
In the final Presidential debate on foreign-policy “some subjects were neglected completely, in part because they had never arisen as a basis for political argument during the campaign. The result was a lopsided map of the world’s troubles and potential crises, with some critical subjects completely unmarked, like a fifteenth-century scroll depicting the world beyond the known seas.”
Steve Coll looks at six consequential subjects that the final Presidential debate missed: http://nyr.kr/RYlAP5
Photograph by Stefan Falke/Laif/Redux.
-
Shouts & Murmurs - Yelp Reviews of the Presidential Debates
Categories: American (New)Locations: various
Noise Level: quiet, occasional laughter
Wi-Fi: Yes
Attire: Dressy
Good for Kids: No
Denver Location:
Two Stars
I came to hear the specifics of Romney’s tax plan, but when he brought it out I was pretty disappointed. Closing loopholes was a bizarre pairing with cutting off funding for PBS, and didn’t make sense over-all. Health care wasn’t bad, though. Wouldn’t recommend, but I didn’t hate it.
—Emily S.
Philadelphia, Pa. -
Two debates took place in Boca Raton on Monday night, one embedded inside the other. Given that the candidates and moderator had only ninety minutes to work with, the intrusion of domestic issues couldn’t have helped but take away from the foreign-policy discussion. That is a cause for real regret—the world they talked about didn’t extend much beyond the Middle East and China anyway. But taken on its own terms, the second, shadow debate was not a bad one. It was surprisingly detailed, and the exchanges were in some ways more direct than the ones on foreign policy and even more so than previous ones on domestic issues. Despite the assumption that any mention of the economy would be bad for the President, it was also a fight Obama largely controlled. He won a solid victory on foreign policy in large part because he was more coherent than Romney in talking about things that had nothing to do with foreign policy.
Amy Davidson on the two debates in Boca Raton last Monday night: http://nyr.kr/XeYwAq
Read Dexter Filkins on Romney’s foreign policy and Evan Osnos on the candidates’ comments about China, and see our full coverage of the Presidential debates.
Photograph by Nikki Kahn/Washington Post/Getty.
-
“Memo to the candidates: Humor can be an effective way to communicate your message.” Bob Mankoff on F.D.R.’s “masterful funniess,” and debate humor: http://nyr.kr/U5U5IJ
(Source: newyorker.com)
-
"I said before the debate that [Biden] was an underrated politician. Last night, he demonstrated why that’s true. The guy in the Oval Office owes him more than a phone call."
—Read more from John Cassidy on last night’s VP debate: http://nyr.kr/OszVGg
(Source: newyorker.com)
-
By Wide Margin, Democrats Want Biden in All Remaining Debates→
DANVILLE, KY (The Borowitz Report)—In a poll of Democratic voters taken immediately following Thursday night’s Vice-Presidential debate, a wide majority said they wanted Vice-President Joe Biden to appear in all remaining 2012 debates: Continue reading.
