Frank Daniels III

fdanielsiii@tennessean.com

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Friday that the first presidential candidate debate would be limited to Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

The commission’s decision illustrates that our political class — Democrats, Republicans, their consultants and those who benefit financially from their budget decisions — is interested only in protecting their power and marginalizing any who challenge it.

The biggest losers, once again, are America’s voters.

The commission’s news release announcing the decision is laughable from the first sentence.

“The nonpartisan, non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates ("CPD") announced today that it has applied its Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria for 2016 General Election Debate participation to determine eligibility to participate in the presidential debate … .”

Nonpartisan, no; bipartisan, yes.

The Democrats and Republicans, after they were embarrassed by political neophyte Ross Perot in 1992, have ensured the system is rigged. A good thing, too, given the abysmal quality of their nominees, who are competing fiercely to see which one will be the most unpopular person elected to “lead” the country. I think I may throw up.

Polls

The commission established three criteria that candidates had to satisfy to be included in one of three presidential debates.

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein qualify, along with Clinton and Trump, to be included in the debates based on the commission’s first two criteria: 1, constitutionally qualified to hold the office of president of the U.S., and, 2, be on the presidential ballot in enough states to win a “theoretical Electoral College majority in the general election.”

The Libertarian Party and Green Party candidates failed to qualify for the Sept. 26 debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., because of the commission’s third criteria: that a candidate get at least 15 percent of voters as determined by five national polls. The five selected polls are: ABC-Washington Post, CBS-New York Times, CNN-Opinion Research Corporation, Fox News and NBC-Wall Street Journal.

The commission’s polling average announced Friday was: Clinton, 43 percent; Trump, 40.4 percent; Johnson, 8.4 percent; and Stein, 3.2 percent.

Perot perspective

In the infamous, at least to the two major parties, 1992 election, Perot was invited to participate in the commission’s nationally televised debates even though shortly before the invitation his support in national polls was under 10 percent — a number that may surprise many readers.

Before the national Democratic and Republican conventions, Perot was a significant contender. In mid-June, a Time magazine poll showed that Perot was ahead of incumbent President George H.W. Bush and the presumptive Democrat, Bill Clinton — 37 percent of registered voters preferred Perot to 24 percent each for Bush and Clinton.

A month later, angry and frustrated with negative media coverage, Perot withdrew his candidacy and stopped campaigning. He dropped out in July and yet was allowed on the podium to debate Bush and Clinton when he “relaunched” his candidacy Oct. 1.

According to post-debate polls, Perot trounced the two dominant party nominees in the debate. Potential voters embraced Perot’s plain-spoken analysis.

He was pith in his observations and ripostes.

Like in responding to his lack of experience: "Well, they've got a point. I don't have any experience running up a $4 trillion debt." (And now 24 years later we approach $20 trillion.)

Or this response to racial divisions in America: "Let me just say to all of America: If you hate people, I don't want your vote."

And on the state of America: "If people don't have the stomach to fix these problems, I think it's a good time to face it, November. If they do, then they will have heard the harsh reality of what we have to do. I'm not playing Lawrence Welk music here tonight."

The debate did reignite Perot’s candidacy, but while voters liked the way he said things, they did not really like what he had to say. Perot received 19.7 million votes, 18.9 percent of the total, compared with Clinton’s 44.9 million votes, 43 percent, and Bush’s 39.1 million votes, 37.4 percent. However, Perot did not win any Electoral College votes, and Clinton, with 370 electoral votes, easily prevailed over Bush, 168 votes.

Why we need Johnson in the debate

The most recent Quinnipiac University national poll, one of the most respected and highly rated by FiveThirtyEight.com, shows why Johnson should be on the podium for every debate, regardless of his current polling numbers — (Stein, too).

“It’s the definition of ‘damned by faint praise,’ a presidential contest where a vote for a candidate is less an endorsement of that candidate than a stinging rejection of his or her opponent,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll.

“Priority one for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the election looms: lure the cynical, disaffected, downright disgusted electorate into their camp. That’s no mean feat as clouds of distrust loom over both campaigns.”

Of those surveyed, 57 percent view Clinton negatively and 59 percent view Trump negatively.

Clinton’s support is mostly anti-Trump: 54 percent of her voters say they are primarily voting against the GOP nominee. Trump’s voters are even more motivated by their dislike of Clinton, 66 percent of his supporters, versus only 23 percent saying they are voting “for” him.

And what do voters have to say about Johnson? A majority, 53 percent, say they don’t know enough to form a positive or negative opinion.

Shame

The “nonpartisan, non-profit” commission should be ashamed of itself (though of course it is not) for not embracing, as it did 1992, a legitimate candidate who will improve the quality of election debate.

Mainstream journalists, especially the organizations whose polling is being used to exclude candidates, should be even more ashamed for their role in stifling debate. We are not true to our constitutionally protected role, and we play into the narrative of declining trust in us.

More than 40 percent of voters consider themselves independents. I think it is time that we act independent and give Democrats and Republicans the only answer they deserve.

Reach Frank Daniels III at 615-881-7039 and on Twitter @fdanielsiii.