In Every Debate, Whatever The Format, Whatever

Victory Has 1,000 Fathers; Defeat Has 1,000 Kibitzers.

Think About One Of The Most Powerful Influences On A Young Child's Life - The Absence Of A Father Figure. Look Back On Recent Presidents, And You'll Find An Absent, Or Weak, Or Failed Father In The Lives Of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton And Barack Obama.

When An Office-holder Facing A Multi-count Indictment Says That He Has Decided To Spend More Time With His Family, The Proper Response Is A Horse-laugh. When An Accused Politician Explains That A Charge Of Corruption Is 'really' An Attack On His Or Her Race, Religion, Ethnic Background Or Gender, The Odds That Something Felonious Happened Jumps.

By Every Measure, John Kennedy's Sex Life Was Compulsive And Reckless. At One Level, It Had Clear Public Consequences. Knowledge Of Kennedy's Behavior Gave Fbi Director J. Edgar Hoover Absolute Job Security, As Well As The Potential Power To Derail Kennedy's Re-election Had He Survived Assassination.

A Citizen At His Home In Rockford, Illinois, Or Boulder, Colorado, Could Read A Newspaper, Listen To A Radio, Or Watch The Round-the-clock Coverage On Television, But He Had No Way Of Connecting With Those Who Shared His Views. Nor Was There A Quick, Readily Available Tool For An Ordinary Citizen To Gather Information On His Own. In 1960, Communication Was A One-way Street, And Information Was Fundamentally Inaccessible. The Whole Idea Of Summoning Up Data Or Reaching Thousands Of Individuals With The Touch Of A Finger Was A Science-fiction Fantasy.