Fix The Debt

Tonight the presidential candidates face-off in the second of three debates. So far, coverage of the debates has sounded much like that of the concurrent Major League Baseball playoffs.

With the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles being bounced out of the playoff picture early on, it appears that many of those in DC following the debates have transferred their baseball fixation, with more attention being paid to the perceived score than to the substance of what was discussed.

Viewed through the playoff lens, President Obama needs to bounce back tonight to even the three-debate series after being blown out in debate 1. In this game, runs are scored based on style, not substance.

In the run-up to tonight’s match-up, the big question seems to be what children’s’ television character will be singled out this time. We vote for Dora the Explorer. Surely she can lead us to a solution to the mounting national debt: Go through the Soundbite Swamp, over the Mountain of Misinformation, and to the Comprehensive Castle!

The candidates should consider shaking up the batting order tonight and discussing policy specifics, such as their respective plans to address the debt in a way that doesn’t wreck the economy. The umpires at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget will be fact checking tonight’s debate in real-time as they did the first debate and last week’s vice presidential debate and they will be calling balls and strikes based on substance, not who smiles the most or sighs the least.

Substantive debates can still be fun to watch. We produced a handy toolkit to allow you to host a debate party, including Debate Tic Tac Toe.

Voters want real answers, as the video below recorded at the first debate in Denver attests. We think the candidate that deals with the debt will hit a home run.

#DebateTheDebt Debate Debate the Debt Fact Check Governor Romney Hofstra President Obama presidential debate