Cupcakes and the Vice Presidential Debate

This week, I read Ruth Marcus's article, In our debates, the ingredients never blend. Ruth Marcus's writing style is truly unique, and she is able to use many analogies and metaphors to prove her point. I found this technique to be effective. In her article, Marcus discusses the awkwardness and choppiness of the Vice Presidential Debates. Her stance is that the candidates' performances at the debates were not up to par. She cites that, "The candidates talk past one another. They fail to engage; they evade direct answers. The audience is left unsettled and confused."

Marcus compares the debates to a "classic Mamet." At first, I did not know what this meant, but later found out that Mamet is a playwright. I still could not fully understand the metaphor, but I was able to infer what it meant based on the rest of the article, which disccused how choppy and somewhat unproductive the debates were. Marcus also compares the debates to the show, "Cupcake Wars." This metaphor, I understood. She compares the process of creating recipes to policy making, and the process of working as a team of chefs to leadership ability. If the debators are not able to communicate well, they will not be successful in "finishing the cupcakes," or rather conveying their stances to the audience.

Overall, I admire Marcus's writing style. She is able to convey her message very well through the usage of metaphors which is unique a well as effective.

In our debates, the ingredients never blend