take em' doooooon

So I was quite disappointed that I had a meeting tonight... I really wanted to catch the debate (believe it or not).
I marvel at debates... An excuse to fight it out with a (hopefully) worthy opponent... With rules and (some) civility. I couldn't do it!
Here's the thing... These candidates present in an orderly(ish) fashion, the things which their party is passionate about.. They want to make themselves look good, and their opponents foolish... They are (mostly) well versed in eachothers platforms, and by the end of the debate, you have a good idea where each stands.
Let's gaze at what would become of me on the platform....
" I just really feel strongly about this point" (long dramatic pause) ... bursts into tears with the passion of it all....
Yup... I feel strongly about something... And what happens? Tears... And gasping for breath... There's so much emotion behind it.... So much passion... And I end up crying.

Now.. My fascination lies in the channeling of the passion with the candidates... Tonight (though I missed most of it) was a prime example. Instead of freaking out on eachother... They get out (nearly) all their points, their rebuttals are heard, they don't show the offence that they might be feeling.. Even after being shot down... LOL.. waaaaaay down.Pretty impressive if you ask me.

However.
On my way home from the meeting tonight I was thinking about debate scoring "for the rest of us" (someone on the national tonight had a good point... They as newspeople rate the debate in a much different way than us at home, who don't dedicate our lives to the election and all else that happens on the hill)
I'm thinking that maybe we should turn debates into some sort of full contact sport.. To truly ensure that we've a fit leader on our hands.... You gotta take the guy out (lay them down) before you can give your rebuttal... I've got other ideas, but there's got to be a fair system of scorekeeping... I'll let you know when I've got it worked out.