www.startribune.com/lifestyle/style/29687829.html?elr=K -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 9/24/2008
Last Visited: 9/24/2008
Namita Desai, Varsity LD-Captain, with coach Chris McDonald.
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"Our presidential debates are media events that are forums at best, with the candidates primarily seeking a sound bite that will play out on the news the next few days," said Chris McDonald, whose Eagan High debate program is a perennial state-tournament powerhouse.
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McDonald, whose 74-member debate team is about 80 percent female, noted that "in the last decade, we've really moved beyond the days when girls were being accused of being overly aggressive when they were only doing things a guy would do."
But he said neither Biden nor Palin should be too aggressive.The two coaches' advice differed slightly on that front, with McDonald advocating that the candidates "above all have to be themselves" and Sarff counseling them "to be kind of androgynous."
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"The overarching ideal," said McDonald, "is that it forces you to advocate both ways on an issue to better understand the issue, to really stand in the shoes of the other side so that you develop a more holistic viewpoint of the issues.