The Post Democratic Debate Analysis
Looking forward to some confrontation in what was otherwise predicted to be a dull exchange in the most recent Democratic debate, viewers watched to see how Clinton and Sanders would handle what some in the [...]
Weighing In–Post Debate Scorecard
There was almost no mention of domestic policy in the 5th Republican debate. Instead, the focus was on national security. I predicted that candidates would argue about who had the best plan to defeat terrorism [...]
The Hunger Games–What to Expect in the 5th Republican Debate
CNN has been promoting the 5th Republican primary debate as if we’re about to watch The Hunger Games [watch the CNN trailer]. While we won’t hear a cannon shot and see pictures of the candidates [...]
Ted Cruz–Championship Debater Clarified
You’ll find mention of the “fact” that Ted Cruz was a championship debater in post-debate analyses, talk shows and political commentaries. But let’s examine the fact a little more closely. True, Cruz debated while at [...]
3 Reasons Outsiders Should Stay Outside Politics
Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump have all been able to capitalize on voters’ discontent with status quo politicians by portraying themselves as “outsiders” who aren’t tainted by the political culture of lobbying and [...]
Why The Debates Have Derailed and How To Get Them Back on Track
Let’s begin with the assumption that people watch the debates for the purpose of learning more about the candidates instead of reinforcing their existing opinion. That’s a big assumption, but if the latter holds true, [...]
The DNA of Argument
Remember that one of Aristotle’s “available means of persuasion was logic, or what I refer to as “argument” in blog postings. To better understand how to judge the strength of an argument, it helps to [...]
Tell the truth! Fallacies in the Primary Debates
I once had a colleague, who when she heard something she found difficult to believe, would exclaim: “Oh, tell the truth!” How I now wish she was asking the candidates questions, trying to weed through their [...]
Reasoning–Linking Evidence to Assertions
The post on the DNA of Argument introduced the role reasoning played in argument. I wrote that reasoning connected the evidence someone presents to the assertion someone makes. You could also think of reasoning as [...]
Evidence–The Building Blocks of Argument
I begin with a caveat: If you ever read a book on argumentation or take a course in argument, you’ll likely see more distinctions among the different types of evidence than what I’m about to [...]
