General

Munk-y Debates: Dems v GOPs in Toronto

I really regretted not being in Toronto a few weeks ago for the inaugural Munk Debate, which featured Niall Ferguson and Charles Krauthammer facing off against Samantha Power and Richard Holbrooke over the question, “Be it resolved the world is a safer place is a Republican in the White House”.

Thankfully, you can download it as a podcast or stream it live here.

It seems pretty clear to me that Ferguson and Krauthammer (who were for the resolution) got the best of the debate. Both are funny and smart and were able to control the terms of debate in a manner that kept Power and Holbrooke on their heels. Holbrooke was good enough, but I thought Power was weak and unfocused.

Interesting fact: They polled the audience before the debate, and the score was 29% in favour of the resolution, 71% against. They polled again after, and the numbers had shifted to 46% pro/54% con.

Was anyone there who can tell us how things felt in the room?

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