Editorial: Can civility return to politics?
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On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania primary confirmed what everyone already knew: President Joe Biden, a Democrat, will face off against former president and Republican Donald Trump in November in a replay of the 2020 election.
In a similarly unsurprising revelation, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, will defend his seat against his Republican challenger, former hedge fund CEO David McCormick.
The utter lack of suspense from those two top races might have contributed to low voter turnout in the primary.
What is more surprising? As of Friday, it seems as though there will be debates in both races.
In an interview with Howard Stern, Biden said he would debate Trump.
“I don’t know when, but I’m happy to debate him,” Biden said.
The Trump campaign immediately picked up the gauntlet.
“OK let’s set it up!” senior adviser Chris LaCivita responded on X, formerly Twitter.
Biden, as the incumbent, has had no debates during the primary. Trump refused to participate in any of the primary debates. Instead, the events served to chew up his opponents while he held rallies or conducted friendly TV interviews.
A similar exchange is setting up the Senate race. The Casey campaign confirmed his participation in three proposed debates to take place in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
McCormick then chimed back on X: “Glad to hear it. See you there.”
In 2022, McCormick narrowly lost the race to be the Republican nominee for the open seat in play as Pat Toomey retired. Instead, it went to TV personality and former cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who faced off against Democrat John Fetterman.
A debate in that race happened but was uncertain for months as Fetterman, who had a stroke days before the primary, still was recovering and had verbal processing issues.
The promise of real debates between the two parties in the two most significant races is remarkable in itself. What may be more startling, however, is the very cordial exchanges.
The 2022 Senate race was marked by social media sniping. Trump is notorious for throwing elbows against his opponents. Biden has tossed some sly hardballs at “the former guy” as Trump is engaged in a criminal trial in New York.
But these debates were accepted almost with the polite agreeability of a Jane Austen novel.
It is unlikely to last. The political landscape has become less “Sense and Sensibility” and more “Mad Max.” There is a long time between now and November — and a lot happening in courthouses and the Capitol along the way.
The possibility of a return to the normality of political exchanges, however, is heartening — and more surprising than anything else that happened in the Pennsylvania primary.