I listened to RFK Jr speak at PorcFest. I listened to Vivek being interviewed by Tucker Carlson at the Family Leadership Summit. I have some deep disagreements with both of these candidates on what I take to be fundamental issues.
I don’t want either of them to be President. Although to be fair, I don’t really want anyone to be President other than Ron Paul or John Valera. But what impresses me about them is that, in terms of raw intellectual power, they seem to be head and shoulders above anyone else who is trying to get the job.
So here’s what I would love to see. Not a debate in which each tries to show that his prepared answers are better than the other guy’s prepared answers.
Rather, a discussion in which they try to identify (1) what they actually agree on and (2) for the things they disagree on, the underlying principles (e.g., on what the purpose of government is and what the legitimate sources of government power might be) that lead to those disagreements.
Not Bobby versus Vivek. Rather, Bobby and Vivek.
That is, I’d love to watch them learn something from each other in real-time — something I think is pretty much impossible for any of the other candidates in the race on either side.
What’s interesting is that I think both of them would say, if asked, that what they really want from their candidacies — win or lose — is for certain ideas to be heard and seriously considered.
I think you could guarantee a huge audience for this kind of conversation. And it would provide a lasting record of what substantive political conversation could be, in contrast to the scripted, focus-tested, pandering crap that we usually get.
Does anyone out there know how to get these two guys into a room with a thermos of coffee (or a pitcher of beer) and a video camera?