NewsWhore
04-02-2008, 05:10 PM
Political analyst Rosario Espinal criticizes the ruling PLD party for refusing to take part in a formal political debate. She says that with its refusal, PLD campaign strategists seek to maintain the President's positioning "above other mortals, while their campaign ads stress that the PRD, their main opponent, was responsible for bad government".
She points out that when compared to the magnitude of the corruption and political patronage scandals that have rocked the present election campaign, the absence of a presidential debate would appear to be insignificant, but it is not. She highlights the fact that that when well-orchestrated with good interviewers and clear rules of debate, political debates reveal the contenders' political positions, their strengths and weaknesses and above all they contribute to the political socialization of citizens within the debate framework. "Good debates are privileged spaces for rational discussions," she states in her commentary in today's Hoy newspaper. She says that without presidential debates, campaigns become media confrontation events, merely for screening TV and radio ads, where the opponents criticize each other and solutions are not presented.
In her opinion, the fact that the PLD refused to debate governance issues with the other candidates is an act of unpardonable arrogance for any party or candidate, especially one who promises progress like the PLD and President Fernandez.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
She points out that when compared to the magnitude of the corruption and political patronage scandals that have rocked the present election campaign, the absence of a presidential debate would appear to be insignificant, but it is not. She highlights the fact that that when well-orchestrated with good interviewers and clear rules of debate, political debates reveal the contenders' political positions, their strengths and weaknesses and above all they contribute to the political socialization of citizens within the debate framework. "Good debates are privileged spaces for rational discussions," she states in her commentary in today's Hoy newspaper. She says that without presidential debates, campaigns become media confrontation events, merely for screening TV and radio ads, where the opponents criticize each other and solutions are not presented.
In her opinion, the fact that the PLD refused to debate governance issues with the other candidates is an act of unpardonable arrogance for any party or candidate, especially one who promises progress like the PLD and President Fernandez.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)