Last evening I made the dubious choice of watching the Vice-Presidential Debates during prime time. I should have watched the Steelers or a re-run of something.
It was not the content or the politics of the debate that I found was upsetting me more and more as the evening wore on, although that was not satisfying either. What I grew tired of was the tone and the antics of Vice-President Biden. He was rude, interruptive and dismissive of Congressman Ryan and even the moderator. His smerks and condescending smile, his use of "my friend" with deep sarcasm was disturbing.
I remember forensics in high school, and travelling to compete with other schools in debates, etc. We learned respect, civility, correctness and fairness even in the heat of competition. I saw very little of that last evening, and I was disappointed and shocked. Maybe I am just being foolish, but I expected more from this exercise in the democratic process, not the least of which is good manners.
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