Web Letters: Debating for Dummies

the liberal media

By Eric Alterman

This article appeared in the December 10, 2007 edition of The Nation.

November 21, 2007

Write a Web letter about this article.

What's a Web Letter?

Web Letters are continuously published e-mails from real people, signed with their real names. No registration is required. Each article page on The Nation includes a Web Letters link.

Read the best Web Letters on this page.

We're committed to publishing your comments as they are received. We place a red star () on the best submissions and may edit your e-mail for length or content. Your e-mail address will not be published or shared with any third party without your consent.

If you prefer, you may submit a letter to the print edition only.

We look forward to hearing from you.

  • Instead of questions on favorite gemstones or UFOs I would like to suggest some that might be of more concern to voters:

    Does your silence with regard to our Administration's policies regarding the West Bank and Gaza imply that you agree with them?

    Do you believe that our $3 billion a year to Israel and the $2 billion per year to Egypt for military aid serves the best interest of the United States?

    Matin Brod

    New York, NY

    11/22/2007 @ 9:53pm


  • What ever happened to the debates run by the League of Women Voters ? It is no accident that debates run by the Mega Media are all about "canned," "gotcha' and irrelevant questions. Their whole agenda is about perception , not reality or facts. They represent their owners , not the public.

    Would the League of Women Voters have asked any of the candidates if they believed in UFOs ?

    Michael McKinlay

    Hercules, Ca

    11/21/2007 @ 3:12pm


  • My sentiments exactly! But what can be done? Would it be possible to host a debate with public intellectuals as the questioners?

    What if MoveOn and The Nation co-sponsored a debate in NYC? Wouldn't C-SPAN film it, and wouldn't the major news channels feel compelled to cover it?

    Such a debate, properly handled to avoid the horrors Alterman describes in this piece, could lessen American cynicism toward the political process.

    Chris Hewitt

    San Francisco, CA

    11/21/2007 @ 2:58pm


Advertisement
Advertisement

Blogs

» Act Now!

Coal Country | "This is a civil war."
Peter Rothberg
37 Comments

» The Notion

A Blow to Privatization in Israel (and Perhaps Beyond) | A potentially historic ruling on prison privatization, in Israel.
Eyal Press
18 Comments

» The Dreyfuss Report

Can China Help on Afghanistan? | Beijing wants a broader role in the Middle East and South Asia. Will Obama bring them in?
Robert Dreyfuss
35 Comments

» Editor's Cut

Around the Nation | The week we went Rouge. Plus, Moyers on Afghanistan.
Katrina vanden Heuvel
82 Comments

» The Beat

Health Care Bill Advances, as Harry Reid Trumps Sarah Palin | The death panelist-in-chief rallied her followers to "KILL THE BILL." But 60 senators decided to follow the real leader.
John Nichols
105 Comments

» Altercation

Slacker Friday | The "Second Amendment" sale; the raving paranoids of the right.
Eric Alterman