Both the NBC and CNN debates got off to reality-show starts…
The opening music, glitzy setting, speed of the editing, and dramatic opening remarks of the NBC debates made the programs feel and look like game shows. Asking the candidates to raise their hands to indicate their stands on issues, and the shouting tone of much of the questioning, also reinforced the feeling that this night would be little more than entertainment.
The opening of the CNN debates resembled the opening of “America’s Got Talent,” or the the Oscars. And once again entertainment-first dominated the tone with predicted candidate clashes overly dramatized. And all this was followed by a Hollywood-style theatrical introduction, with each candidate brought on to the stage one-by-one.
Both the NBC and CNN debates became more helpful as we got farther into their formats. We were able to see glimpses of some real talent, but no apparent presidential candidate was able to emerge. Maybe next time television will find a way to be lively, interesting, and get a bit deeper into issues… without setting the scene with over-the-top entertainment hype.
And is it too much to hope for that the Trump reality-show rallies will soon be seen by everyone as the word-salad, and fake-news circuses they really are?
Larry D. Lauer 
Larry, you are correct about what this format does. Sad. American politics has become a reality show because Trump has shaped into this format.