ATLANTA - Voters who braved Thursday night’s presidential debate saw two, too-old candidates who both have been president. Neither should get that chance again.
“These two men are set apart by three years. I'm set apart by 4 decades,” says Chase Oliver, Libertarian presidential candidate. He is 38, less than half of the ages of Trump (78) or Biden (81). “We need younger people elected to represent today's America instead of the America of yesteryear.”
That’s why the campaigns banned experienced debater Oliver - and every other candidate - from that debate stage.
Oliver proved his skills in his U.S. Senate debate against Raphael Warnock. Herschel Walker, the other candidate, got intimidated and stayed home - much like Trump and Biden, he didn’t want to face someone who’d challenge him.
Libertarian Oliver and his running mate Mike ter Maat are currently on ballots in 37 states and are likely to get on 48.
Oliver stands to be on more ballots than any candidate beyond the old parties, including independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who currently qualifies on ballots in only seven states. His campaign is gathering signatures at the same time that Democrats are filing legal challenges to keep him off the ballot.
Biden and Trump came to the debate on June 27 with more than a century of experience in government and business between them. They should have come across as seasoned and capable.
And yet Biden and Trump:
Couldn’t get their facts straight;
Looked confused (Biden) or pained (Trump);
Didn’t bother matching their answers to the questions asked.
Biden and Trump embarrassed themselves while livid voters told interviewers that these could not possibly be their only choices. Voters have other choices.
Why couldn’t they see those choices on the debate stage? CNN never should have agreed to such nakedly protective rules that kept Oliver off the stage.
“This debate proves that the two-party system is dying,” Oliver says. Oliver visited all 50 states, more than any other candidate, demonstrating the energy he brings to the race and his eagerness to listen to everyday people in those states. Oliver and ter Maat appeared in interviews and debates to offer choices to millions of fed-up voters.