Remember that all mentions of and allusions to Trump and Biden are not allowed on our subreddit in any context.
If you'd still like to discuss them, feel free to [join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The two that immoderately come to mind for me are Tilden/Hayes and McKinley/Bryan.
I say Tilden/Hayes because the country was very polarized in those days (like today) so it would have been interesting to see how they’d go at each other.
As for McKinley/Bryan, I believe you’d have completely contrasting styles here. They also had very differing viewpoints. I’d love to see them debate things like tariffs and the gold standard/bimetallism.
It was after I wrote this that they may not be the best, but they’d be very intriguing to me
The problem with holding televised oral debates is that it often favors the most charismatic candidate over the most logical one.
If it were up to me I’d have one oral debate as normal and then one written debate. I’d lock the two of them in a room for 12 hours and have them write essays. Candidate A has a certain amount of time to write an essay about Issue X and candidate B has a certain amount of time to read Candidate A’s essay and write a rebuttal about issue X. Then Candidate B has a certain amount of time to write an essay about Issue Y and candidate A has a certain amount of time to read Candidate B’s essay and write a rebuttal about issue Y. Rinse and repeat. Whatever they finish in the provided time period is what is published.
Off-topic, but it’s kind of hilarious how I use this in my personal life. I travel for a living and thus I meet a lot of traveling salesman that try to sell me on whatever product they’re peddling. If one is particularly confident and relentless, I tell him, “Send an email to ***********@*********.com and tell me why the product you sell is objectively superior to what your competitors sell.” I’ve only had a couple of takers and they would have earned an “F” from my 10th grade English teacher. The gift of the speech gab is often times wholly different than the gift of the ink dab.
Lincoln/Douglas. Not only were they important because of the political situation at the time, they also cemented the importance of having a debate at all
Remember that all mentions of and allusions to Trump and Biden are not allowed on our subreddit in any context. If you'd still like to discuss them, feel free to [join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The two that immoderately come to mind for me are Tilden/Hayes and McKinley/Bryan. I say Tilden/Hayes because the country was very polarized in those days (like today) so it would have been interesting to see how they’d go at each other. As for McKinley/Bryan, I believe you’d have completely contrasting styles here. They also had very differing viewpoints. I’d love to see them debate things like tariffs and the gold standard/bimetallism. It was after I wrote this that they may not be the best, but they’d be very intriguing to me
Tilden/Hayes would be debating tariffs and calling each other corrupt and then sidestepping the issue of Reconstruction.
Andrew Jackson vs John Quincy Adams would have been great in terms of entertainment
There wouldn't even be a debate Jackson would just challenge Adams to a duel
I would love to see Dewey and Truman
McKinley/Bryan and Wilson/Taft/Roosevelt
Roosevelt calls Taft fat again
I would give anything to have witnessed the Lincoln Douglass debates first hand.
Jefferson and Adams
Was Jefferson any good at debates? I know he hated public speaking.
A war of intellectual titans.
McKinley/Bryan would have bene great.
Lincoln/McLellan would’ve been good entertainment
A Polk vs Clay debate would be interesting both speakers of the house from similar states but very different ideologically
TR/Taft/Wilson
So this whole time Obama was just copying Lincoln's fit
The problem with holding televised oral debates is that it often favors the most charismatic candidate over the most logical one. If it were up to me I’d have one oral debate as normal and then one written debate. I’d lock the two of them in a room for 12 hours and have them write essays. Candidate A has a certain amount of time to write an essay about Issue X and candidate B has a certain amount of time to read Candidate A’s essay and write a rebuttal about issue X. Then Candidate B has a certain amount of time to write an essay about Issue Y and candidate A has a certain amount of time to read Candidate B’s essay and write a rebuttal about issue Y. Rinse and repeat. Whatever they finish in the provided time period is what is published. Off-topic, but it’s kind of hilarious how I use this in my personal life. I travel for a living and thus I meet a lot of traveling salesman that try to sell me on whatever product they’re peddling. If one is particularly confident and relentless, I tell him, “Send an email to ***********@*********.com and tell me why the product you sell is objectively superior to what your competitors sell.” I’ve only had a couple of takers and they would have earned an “F” from my 10th grade English teacher. The gift of the speech gab is often times wholly different than the gift of the ink dab.
Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln.
TBF I judged high school debate for 3 years and the debates conducted now are embarrassingly worse than some of the least prepared debates I judged.
Lincoln/Douglas. Not only were they important because of the political situation at the time, they also cemented the importance of having a debate at all