--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I suspect, too, that the modern debates…" description: "\"I suspect, too, that the modern debates represent the effort of candidates with widely-varying constituencies and special interests to please to tip th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/allen-c-guelzo-17586_contrast_i-suspect-too-that-the-modern-debates-re_1891034.jpg" --- # I suspect, too, that the modern debates represent the… ![“I suspect, too, that the modern debates represent the effort of candidates with widely-varying constituencies and special interests to please to tip the hat as quickly as possible to as many of the constituencies and interests as possible. That leaves no time for big-picture issues. Contrast this…” quote by Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/allen-c-guelzo-17586_contrast_i-suspect-too-that-the-modern-debates-re_1891034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/allen-c-guelzo-17586_contrast_i-suspect-too-that-the-modern-debates-re_1891034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce7/allen-c-guelzo-17586_contrast_i-suspect-too-that-the-modern-debates-re_1891034.jpg) > “I suspect, too, that the modern debates represent the effort of candidates with widely-varying constituencies and special interests to please to tip the hat as quickly as possible to as many of the constituencies and interests as possible. That leaves no time for big-picture issues. Contrast this with Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, where the subject was only ever slavery, and the discussion went right to the bedrock of what a democracy is all about.” [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques modern politics for focusing on short‑term appeasement rather than fundamental issues, unlike historic debates centered on core values. **In simple terms:** Politics now avoids big issues. Key Takeaway Focus on core values, not fleeting interests. Themes politics democracy policy focus Mood analytical concerned Type critical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - election campaigns - legislative debates - public forums - media coverage Key Concepts political strategy public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can voters demand depth? - What mechanisms ensure accountability? A Different Perspective Short‑term tactics can erode trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Debates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debates/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [Modern presidential debating only started with Richard Nixon and John F.Kennedy in 1960, although the proximity of that to the Lincoln-Douglas centennial is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/modern-presidential-debating-only-started-with-richard-nixon-and-john/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > ['Doctor Who' is, unavoidably, a product of mid-twentieth-century debates about Britain's role in the world as its empire unravelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/doctor-who-is-unavoidably-a-product-of-mid-twentieth-century-debates/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Debates go on to this day about what caused the Great Depression. Economics is not very good at explaining swings in economic activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-fama/debates-go-on-to-this-day-about-what-caused-the-great-depression/) [Eugene Fama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-fama/) > [But I do think its necessary to have debates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-ferraro/but-i-do-think-its-necessary-to-have-debates/) [Geraldine Ferraro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-ferraro/) > [I don't do formal debates, because formal debates where you have two people up on a stage in equal status, and each of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-don-t-do-formal-debates-because-formal-debates-where-you-have-two/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Almost all political debates by politicians are no more than mutual leg pulling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-ranjan-goswami/almost-all-political-debates-by-politicians-are-no-more-than-mutual/) [Ravi Ranjan Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-ranjan-goswami/) > [At the height of the Cold War, when Ronald Reagan was president, the Soviets and their allies and satellites did not shirk human rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/at-the-height-of-the-cold-war-when-ronald-reagan-was-president-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [I oversee debates, premises, questions. And that's my role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hoyle/i-oversee-debates-premises-questions-and-that-s-my-role/) [Lindsay Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hoyle/) > [Presidential primary debates are an important part of our political process. But the media has wrested complete control from the parties and candidates over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/presidential-primary-debates-are-an-important-part-of-our-political/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [There's no question that many factors contribute to voters' perceptions about debates and who wins and who loses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/there-s-no-question-that-many-factors-contribute-to-voters/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [In general, I found that the more that debates can be about facts and data, the more likely government is to make sound decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-genachowski/in-general-i-found-that-the-more-that-debates-can-be-about-facts-and/) [Julius Genachowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-genachowski/) > [I never listen to debates. They are dreadful things indeed. The plain truth is that I am not a fair man, and don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/i-never-listen-to-debates-they-are-dreadful-things-indeed-the-plain/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When I start getting embroiled in heated debates and feeling stressed, I just turn everything off and disconnect from the world. I simply tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-wadhwa/when-i-start-getting-embroiled-in-heated-debates-and-feeling-stressed/) [Vivek Wadhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-wadhwa/) > [In 2000 the majority of people wanted me and Buchanan on the debates in two thousand. And me on the debates in 2004. have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-2000-the-majority-of-people-wanted-me-and-buchanan-on-the-debates/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Allen C. Guelzo > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Abraham Lincoln would have been happy to have solved the slavery problem by compensation - in fact, drew up a gradual, compensated emancipation plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-would-have-been-happy-to-have-solved-the-slavery/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [I suppose I've been interested in Abraham Lincoln for almost as long as I can remember. My first Lincoln book was the Classics Illustrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/i-suppose-i-ve-been-interested-in-abraham-lincoln-for-almost-as-long/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The one who pursues revenge should dig two graves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-one-who-pursues-revenge-should-dig-two-graves/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Patriotism without criticism has no head; criticism without patriotism has no heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/patriotism-without-criticism-has-no-head-criticism-without-patriotism/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Men who are industrious, and sober, and honest in the pursuit of their own interests should after a while accumulate capital, and after that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/men-who-are-industrious-and-sober-and-honest-in-the-pursuit-of-their/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-question-is-simply-this-can-a-negro-whose-ancestors-were-imported/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“have got Lee just where I want him; he must fight me on my own ground.” So he waited to see what would happen—which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/have-got-lee-just-where-i-want-him-he-must-fight-me-on-my-own-ground/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“On the side of the Union,” Lincoln said, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/on-the-side-of-the-union-lincoln-said-it-is-a-struggle-for/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Corporations did not achieve the scale we normally associate with them until the 1880s; but it's still hard to imagine that Abraham Lincoln would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/corporations-did-not-achieve-the-scale-we-normally-associate-with/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“It seems only human nature to hang the label irrational on what we do not understand, since it is easy for us to assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/it-seems-only-human-nature-to-hang-the-label-irrational-on-what-we-do/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Lincoln was “the first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/lincoln-was-the-first-great-man-that-i-talked-with-in-the-united/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“And so Jefferson wrote the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which organized the new territories of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin so that slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/and-so-jefferson-wrote-the-northwest-ordinance-of-1787-which/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“The struggle of the Union and Confederate economies to supply and support their armies thus became a reflection of the prewar antagonism between liberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-struggle-of-the-union-and-confederate-economies-to-supply-and/) [Allen C. 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It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [I believe in the people of our state and making sure the voices of the people of our state are heard in Washington. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-cunningham/i-believe-in-the-people-of-our-state-and-making-sure-the-voices-of/) [Cal Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-cunningham/) > [I have always liked the contrast between being blonde and having dark features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-have-always-liked-the-contrast-between-being-blonde-and-having-dark/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [One can hardly appreciate how academia has perverted its highest tasks and "ideals" without pondering long and hard the implications of Jacques Barzun's House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/one-can-hardly-appreciate-how-academia-has-perverted-its-highest/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contrast of my vocal sounding very soothing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/there-s-this-one-song-called-final-warning-that-i-m-really-excited/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. Normal biological animals stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/in-a-way-human-beings-have-never-been-part-of-the-natural-order-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) C. D. Innes > [One of the most durable successes of the war on poverty was to dramatically reduce the number of elderly poor in America. That's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-abramsky/one-of-the-most-durable-successes-of-the-war-on-poverty-was-to/) [Sasha Abramsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-abramsky/) > [All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. 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Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) Browse all 859 Contrast quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I suspect, too, that the modern debates represent the effort of candidates with widely-varying constituencies and special interests to please to tip the hat as quickly as possible to as many of the constituencies and interests as possible. That leaves no time for big-picture issues. Contrast this with Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, where the subject was only ever slavery, and the discussion went right to the bedrock of what a democracy is all about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allen C. 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