Debate

Enter Host, Martin, George and Alice. 

Host: Audience, this is the first presidential debate of this election. I have invited three people to come here and ask questions of Martin, George or Alice. When you have a question, mention if it’s for Martin, George or Alice, or for all three. After the third person is through asking questions, then I'll get to you before the two hours are up. Would Bruce please stand up and ask his question? Bruce stands up. 

Bruce: My first question is for Martin, George and Alice; it is in two parts. The first part is, what if there weren't any Democrats or Republicans--just one group of people running to be the next president. The second part is, would we need a presidential debate if that happened? 

Host: Martin, George and Alice, before you answer this question please state whether you belong to the Democratic Party, the Republican Party or the Green Party. 

Martin: I belong to the Democratic Party. If there were no political parties, the public wouldn't know what we would do to handle the important issues. So, that is why we have a presidential debate; to see if the Democratic, Republican or Green Party candidate is the right person to be the President. 

George: I belong to the Republican Party. I'll have to agree with what Martin says, unless the Green Party candidate were to win the election. There has always been a Democrat or a Republican who was elected as our next President. 

Alice: I belong to the Green Party. If there weren't any Democrats or Republicans, then Green Party candidate could easily get elected President without the electoral votes getting in the way. 

George: Alice, we live in a world where only Democrats or Republicans get elected, and we only elect men to be President. There has never been a woman or anybody who isn’t a Democrat or a Republican elected President. 

Alice: I can wait until the public decides for themselves who can be the President. 

Bruce: My second question is for Martin. Martin, some of the Presidents have been unsuitable to hold the office. So, if you're the President, how do we know we can trust you with health care, gun control, war and peace, and education?

Martin: Trust needs to be earned. 

Bruce: My third question is for George. George, why is it that there is always a Democrat or a Republican elected President, and why is it that no woman has ever been elected? 

George: That all depends on who the public votes for on election day. Only a few people vote for Green Party candidates. The majority vote for either a Democrat or a Republican. That is why only a Democrat or a Republican can be the President, and why no woman can get elected.

Bruce: My last question is for Alice. Alice, what do you think of the public choosing a Democrat or a Republican to be President? 

Alice: Because of the electoral college, the voters cast their votes for the electors and not for the President. The elector then choose who'll be the President. 

Bruce: I know everything I need about the candidates to make my decision on election day. Now I'll sit down. Bruce sits down. 

Host: Would Annie please stand up and ask her questions? Annie stands up. 

Annie: My first question is for George. George, this is my first time at a Presidential debate, so please explain how a President gets elected. 

George: On election day the electors collect the ballots and then sort them into the right piles. The first pile is for the Democrats, the second pile is for the Republicans and the last pile is for the Green Party. Then they count the ballots in the piles, and whoever gets the most electoral votes will be the President.

Annie: My second question is for George, and it’s in two parts. The first part is, what will happen if there are absentee ballots, or if any of the ballots have mistakes on them? The second part is, would the Presidential election then be undecided? 

George: The electors have to decide whether to use the absentee ballots or not. If there are any mistakes on the ballots, then the electors have to decide if they're going to fix them or not. The Presidential election will be undecided until the electors decide what they're going to do with the absentee ballots and the ballots that have mistakes on them. 

Annie: My next question is for Martin. Martin, what mistakes can there be on the ballots?

Martin: If someone puts two choices down for President, the machine can't read the ballot. The machine counts that as no choice for President. Then those ballots are of no use to the electors in deciding who will be the next President. 

Annie: My last question is for Alice. Alice, what do you think of George’s opinion that the White House isn’t the place for a woman or someone who isn’t a Democrat or a Republican? 

Alice: My opinion of George is that he’s one of the people who don't want a woman to be President, because they don't want to see any changes happen at the White House. Until the public chooses a woman to be the President, our gender will just have to wait for the public to change their minds on who can be the elected.

Annie: I know everything I need about the candidates to make my decision on election day. Now I’m going to sit down. Annie sits down. 

Host: Would Thomas please stand up and ask his questions? Thomas stands up. 

Thomas: My first question is for Martin. Martin, the Democrats, Republicans and Green Party talk on TV about their positions on health care, gun control, war and peace and education. My question is, why hasn't the public seen you, George or Alice talking on TV? 

Martin: Instead of paying a lot of money to talk on TV about our positions on these issues, we donated it to more useful causes. So, that is why we’ve waited until the Presidential debate to talk about those issues. 

Thomas: George, so far you’ve only talked about how only a Democrat or a Republican can be the President, and only men can be elected. You never talk about what if the Green Party gets more votes then the Democratic or Republican candidate, and what if a woman got more votes than a man. So, my question is why is it you haven't talked about this? 

George: Every President has been male and either a Democrat or a Republican. If a Green Party candidate gets more votes then the Democrat or the Republican, and if a woman gets more a man, things will change. That would mean that Alice would be the very first Green Party and woman President. I don’t think that change is going to happen now, so that’s why I haven't mentioned it. 

Thomas: My next question is for Martin. Martin, why is it the Democrats and the Republicans have a different view of who can be the President? 

Martin: George thinks woman don't have the right qualities to be the President. For me, if anybody has a better plan for handling the issues, then they should have a chance to show what they can do as President. 

Thomas: My last question is for Alice. Alice, what do you think of Martin? 

Alice: My opinion of Martin is that he represents the part of the public who want to see a woman elected President, and who would allow anybody a chance at being the President. 

Thomas: I know everything I need about the candidates to make my decision on election day. Now I’m going to sit down Thomas sits down. 

Host: Audience, we have to take a break from asking questions of Martin, George and Alice and let them talk for two minutes about their campaign on the issues. Right after they're done talking, if you have any more questions, you can ask them. Martin, you can go first. 

Martin: Part of my campaign is to have the public give feedback on these issues, then see what is different between their ideas and mine. Congress might not like the public having a voice on these issues. It is a risk I'm willing to take, to see what will happen if the public has a voice on what goes on at the White House. The rest of my campaign is about health care, gun control, war and peace and education. I'm waiting until I have time to act on these issues. 

George: About forty-four million people in this county don't have any health insurance because they can't afford it. Another thirty-eight million people have inadequate health insurance. So, health care could be a lot better if people had the right health insurance and didn't have to pay over twenty thousand dollars to get health insurance. War and peace and gun control show people how a person’s life will be unsafe, whether it’s on the schoolground or someplace else. If people can find a peaceful way to solve a problem, then that will mean there will be less violence. If I'm elected President, then I'll change the textbooks in public school to a more in-depth approach so that the students can learn more from going to school. 

Alice: My campaign is like Martin’s, with one difference, which is to have the public choose with their own minds whether a woman can be the President as much as a man. It will take a while for the public to finally make their own decision on this issue, but I can wait until that time.