To The Eagle:

The next Democratic Presidential Candidate Debates will be held today (Thursday) at 5 p.m. (8 p.m. EDST). The threshold that candidates must meet to be on the debate stage has now doubled. So although there are 20 Democratic presidential candidates still in the race (six of the original 26 have now dropped out), only 10 of the remaining 20 qualified for the next debates.

More debates. Humpf. There’s probably a lot of things you could think to do instead of watching and listening to 10 people on a debate stage for two hours--cook dinner, eat dinner, read the paper, call your mother, clip your toenails, take the dog(s) out.

But as voters, we have an incredible responsibility to choose the next person to lead our country. Each election cycle, I try to watch all the debates, both Democratic and Republican, because I feel a responsibility to understand, as best I can, where all the candidates stand on the important issues. Some have really surprised me, others have disappointed. In these coming debates, I’m hopeful I will learn even more about the candidates.

Here’s how to watch the debates: ABC Television Network, Univision, ABCNews.com, ABC apps, Hulu Live, Roku Channel, and Facebook Watch.

Who will be onstage? Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Andrew Yang.

There’s a quote I’m fond of that’s attributed to Gore Vidal: “Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”

You just read The Eagle, so you are officially in the half that should vote for President. No matter red, blue, green or purple, watch the debates so you can make an informed decision on November 3, 2020.

The dog(s) can wait…hopefully.

Juanita Luiz

Puget Island