Ronald Reagan's Legacy

Ideologies aside, Reagan's legacy (for me) will have been his reduction of presidential debates to nothing more than potshot contests. His "There you go again!" during his "debate" with Jimmy Carter in 1980 was, I think, an opening salvo in the onrush of negative campaigning that has since littered the electoral landscape. Instead of sticking to facts or ideas, he used the personal put down to attract voters.

"Debate" had already become a poor description of what transpired during the very contrived events by the time Reagan and Carter faced off. They have since wandered even further from what a true debate encompasses, which not only diminishes the process, but further denies an electorate of a real opportunity to make judgements based on well-conceived, thoughtful, factual presentations.