The "Daily Show Demographic"

Bill O'Reily summed it up well when he hosted Jon Stewart on his cable news show, The O'Reilly Factor. "You know what's really frightening?" O'Reilly asked Stewart. "You actually have an influence on this presidential election."

O'Reilly is right. Traditionally speaking, presidential debates have been the highlights of long presidential races. Viewers got a chance to see the candidates unscripted and alone, thinking on their feet, responding to pressure, and for once becoming human. Today, though, presidential debates are just another choreographed event, the motions gone through almost by rote.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Steven Pimpare agrees with the assessment that debates have become too, well, formatted. "In today's political world debates are not actual debates, but carefully controlled environments stage-managed by the Republican and Democratic parties, who collude to shield their standard-bearers from uncomfortable questions and real, substantive engagement and confrontation," said Dr. Pimpare. "These are theatrical events more than serious political discourse, I would argue. And few voters have been persuaded by them in the past. Good for voters, I say."

Throughout America, college students have tuned out, echoing the idea that the debates are primarily a way of swaying people who don't care about the issues, but are impressed by fancy rhetoric. For many younger voters, the debates are not even worth watching, and those who watched did so with only mild interest.

Yeshiva University students appear to be no different. According to Adam Mermelstein, YC '07, "the debates are just a waste of time. They never say anything new, and they just drill in their catchphrases over and over." Even among those who did watch the debate, the political relevance is dead. Mikey Lev, YC '07, said he "watched out of curiosity. I'd still vote for Bush, even if Kerry won." Another, Ephraim Teppler, YC '07, turned it off halfway through. "They weren't debating issues," he said. "It was more like two campaign speeches being delivered side by side." Marc Kolb, host of the popular WYUR Monday night radio show "Fun with Thumbtacks," saw the debates as cute entertainment, not a chance to get to know the men who may lead the country. He referred to them on the air as "Bush and Kerry do standup."

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