Through the current election cycle, many Americans seem disenfranchised by the lack of substance in political discourse. Some have commented that Americans are only hearing "talking points" during political conversations.

In an interactive discussion hosted by UT's Baker Center for Public Policy, invited guests and students analyzed various issues that are being ignored by politicians and the media.

In addition to the more than 70 students in attendance at the Jack E. Reese Galleria in Hodges Library were history student and PhD candidate Aaron Crawford, professor of journalism Dr. Mark Harmon, Model UN President Morgan Gibson and Tennessee State Senator Jamie Woodson.

Tuesday night's discussion centered around three questions, all of which are central to the reason so many issues are being passed over on the campaign trail:

• Are presidential debates still relevant?
• Can the American public handle true policy discussions?
• Have so-called "electability" concerns prohibited a true discussion of the issues at hand?

Structure of Presidential Debates

"In preparation for tonight, I took the time to watch several of the past debates," Crawford said. "One concern to me is that little discussion of serious policies has taken place in recent debates, to the point where they're substantially irrelevant."

When a student raised the issue of past presidential debates, Crawford pointed to the debates Reagan, Nixon, Kennedy and a number of our other political forefathers participated in.

"The 1988 election was the last time candidates seemed comfortable making their opinions, no matter how controversial, publicly known in debates, and arguing serious policy positions in depth," Crawford stated.

Sen. Woodson followed Crawford's statement by outlining the major problem with the format of the debates: "I personally found them [the debates] valueless, especially the Brokaw debate with only one minute to respond. One minute is great for politicians because they don't have to go beyond the sound byte for CNN and Fox. It's very frustrating as a citizen, though to watch."

Though little depth was provided in any of the presidential and vice-presidential debates this year, one serious question is about average American's willingness and desire to hear highly analytical and detailed information in the format of a debate.

"The [French presidential debates] are four hours long and the candidates vigorously make a case as to why they would make a better president," leader of the Baker Center Gavin Luter said. "They don't have canned questions and prepared answers, instead taking questions as they come. It's tough to envision average Americans watching an extremely detailed and complicated debate like that."

Growing National Debt

One issue that has rarely been mentioned by John McCain or Barack Obama is how their policies will put a dent in the constantly growing national debt, cut taxes for the middle class and install new social programs as they both promise.

"Personally, I think the U.S. is headed toward what used to be called third-world status. Are we looking at a future where we're begging somebody to forgive our debt? It's a definite possibility, and sadly, it's an issue that wasn't discussed at all. Not in the debates, nowhere," Crawford said.

I think the U.S. is headed toward what used to be called third-world status. Are we looking at a future where we're begging somebody to forgive our debt? PhD candidate Aaron Crawford

The thought that America's national debt, which by modest estimations has topped $10 trillion for the first time ever, could lead to physical conflicts and serious regressions for America in the future is a belief most in attendance agreed on.

"Most people think it's a joke that America could become 'third-world' in the future," Gibson said. "But what's going to happen when China looks up one day and decides it's time for us to pay back the insurmountable sum of money we've borrowed over the past century?"

"The fact of the matter is, China could well do to us what we did to so many countries in the past," another student added.

Presidential Powers

In the past eight years, the question of president's overstepping their constitutional powers has been a regular topic of discussion.

"It seems like the president doesn't even have to get congressional approval to declare war anymore," one student observed.

"Well, they never really have, at least in my lifetime," responded Aaron Crawford. "In the past 60 or so years, presidents have rarely gone through congress when going to war. For whoever is elected to say 'yes, I will wait for congressional approval before we invade' would be a huge historical event."

Beyond the question of the president's constitutional and assumed powers, many in attendance are alarmed by American's expectation that a new president will be able to fix every problem we're facing in their first four years.

"It seems like we're depending on the president to somehow come in and fix all these problems," one student asserted. "I think it's really important that we focus on our federal representatives and local politicians to make a concerted effort in fixing America over the next 10 or so years. One man alone won't make any difference."

Civic Education

In recent years, America's overall quality of education has fallen from the elite in the world to an unimpressive ranking of 11.

Civic education and knowledge of government, at the very least plays a serious role in America's lagging behind nationally.

Every year, I ask the class to write the Bill of Rights for bonus points on the first exam. Out of 125 students, only three this semester could do so. PhD candidate Aaron Crawford

"Every year, I ask the class to write the Bill of Rights for bonus points on the first exam. Out of 125 students, only three this semester could do so. That alone speaks volumes about the state of America's civic education," Crawford said.

Beyond historical documents, various polls and surveys show that most Americans don't even know who the names of their senators and representatives.

Surprisingly, education was rarely mentioned in detail throughout the presidential debates and the campaign season. Neither candidate has made education a primary issue in their platform.

Though the debates covered such topics as negative campaigning, ties with questionable leaders and a handful of other topics that are largely irrelevant, education was kicked to the wayside.

"I found it shocking that the question of education never came until the final question of the last debate," Sen. Woodson exclaimed. "Any time you have an economic crisis, education is one area you absolutely need to invest in. Even if it takes a while to show effect, it will be the primary engine that drives America to a successful future."

Wrap-up

It is impossible for citizens to make a truly educated decision without going past the 20-second sound bytes that most rely on for information about presidential candidates.

There also needs to be a renewed focus on local politics and state government to solve the many problems America is currently faced with, and a mass movement away from uninformed voting.

One way or another, Americans need answers to the many questions raised in the discussion, as well as many others that were left out.