Reply #9: Of course they're a waste of time

[elperromagico]

90 minutes less commercials gives you about 65-70 minutes worth of debate. Add time for moderator comments and questions, and you get maybe 50-55 minutes worth of actual candidate time. That's fine if you have 2 or 3 candidates. But when you have 9 candidates, each candidate winds up with about 5-6 minutes to express his/her views. Naturally, each candidate is going to "do their A material," which includes copious criticisms of Bush policies (and of each other).

Guess what gets aired on the evening news? "The Democratic candidates for president spent ninety minutes last night bashing President Bush and bashing each other."

So yes, they are a waste of time, and they will be until the field is narrowed.