I truly appreciate my working class roots. My dad personifies the "average American" and is always able to break things down in the simplest of ways. I told him I was ready for some ideas for some new blog posts and he says: "I know what you should write about. Every time they tell a lie in a debate a buzzer should go off. I'm so sick of all the lies. That would make the debates worth watching." I have to hand it to my old man -- he's a genius!
So here is a modest proposal (inspired by my dad). The debates need to partner with PolitiFact to provide instant "lie stream" analysis of all whoppers candidates utter. Of course, public shaming by indicating that a lie has been told probably wouldn't deter candidates swimming in shades of various truths. So, perhaps we could up the ante by going "Clockwork Orange" on the candidates. Each time a lie is told, they get a shock. The bigger the lie, the more forceful the shock. I figure one of three things would happen. Either we would 1) get the most truthful debates ever witnessed; 2) very little would be said and we may have the shortest debates ever witnessed; or 3) candidates would develop especially "thick skin" and tough their way through some very painful answers. The American people deserve the best that technology can provide.