Hi, Folks -

Has anything changed in the past 40+ years? Maybe not. :)

Here's the debate sequence from the 1972 film "The Candidate". Robert Redford portrays Bill McKay who had not been looking to run for office but is tapped to run by political election specialist Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) with the full expectation that he will lose and incumbent Republican senator Crocker Jarmon (Don Porter) will be re-elected. Because that's expected to be the outcome, McKay is told he can say whatever he wants. McKay agrees, seeing it as an opportunity to spread his idealistic values.

As things progress along the campaign trail, it appears McKay will lose in a landslide that would humiliate the Democratic party. So that he'll lose with a smaller margin, he's advised to make his speeches and talking points more generic, to appeal to a broader range of voters.

The margin between the two candidates begins to narrow. Jarmon then proposes a debate. Quoting Wikipedia, "McKay agrees to give answers tailored by Lucas, but just as the debate is ending, McKay has a pang of conscience and blurts out that the debate had not addressed real issues such as poverty and race relations."

Here's that debate.

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https://youtu.be/ncrc_igP2a4

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--hobie