Grandma Chris

Once again, American voters spent 90 minutes of their lives listening to carefully crafted performances by candidates seeking the highest offices in the land. With 2-minute limits and unimaginative questioning by moderators, we learned almost nothing new about the candidates, their policies or their plans. While I appreciate the time and effort invested by the news media and the campaigns in preparing for these so-called “debates,” American voters deserve better.

A young man told me recently that it seems every year he hears the same refrain from the major political parties: “This will be the most consequential election ever.” Upon reflection about the upheaval of the current presidential campaign, he concluded, “This year, I think they’re right.”

So is it fair that these new voters, and all voters for that matter, must make this consequential decision based on theatrical performances and pre-packaged sound bites instead of reasoned discussions about the key issues of the day? Of course not!

Let’s s create a new format. The only rules would be simple ones: Mics are live unless the candidate digresses from the topic (No,Mr. Trump. Tariffs will NOT solve the child care crisis, and illegal immigrants did not cause the crisis.) Digressions would invoke a 30-second timeout, a cone of silence to embarrass the candidate for refusing to answer directly and honestly.

Insults would invoke a 60-second timeout, because diverting attention away from the candidate’s own positions by attacking his or her opponent is the most common form of digression we’ve seen during the debates. This would make it even more obvious to viewers that the candidate is not able to clearly articulate a position of their own.

And for the sake of common decency, I will add a full 2-minute penalty for profanity. As a former hockey coach, I know 2 minutes in the penalty box can definitely change behavior. And that’s what we want and need: a clear change in the behavior of the candidates.

Thirty more rallies to known supporters or 30 more debates focused on the same questions without adequate time to explore the nuances of the issues or the possible solutions to our most critical problems is a waste of the last month of the most consequential presidential campaign of my lifetime.

So, I challenge thee Donald J. Trump: Come to Ohio, and talk to Grandma Chris. My nascent web site (grandmachris.org) was set up with a single goal: forcing you into facing up to the issues middle America and the middle class care about most. Come to Ohio Mr. Trump. Talk to Grandma Chris!