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Originally Posted by ubertuber
I merely feel that the debate we watch should provide enough material for discussion for one session - otherwise we will be having an all-out political debate instead of a discussion about THE debate. The goal here is not to convince anyone of one party's superiority, but rather to be able to deconstruct what we can and can not learn directly from the candidates - in other words, to begin to learn a skill that will serve our students beyond this particular night or election. This is why, upon reflection, I am hesitant to cloud the water with partisan material from either side. We can view this material on other nights. 10/8 should be about the candidates themselves and the discussion they engage in.
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I think you are providing an excellent service - an event to view the debates and discuss them afterwards. I agree with your most recent feelings, any viewing of other material would serve no purpose other than to cloud the issue. As an example, if you were to watch F911 beforehand, the inevitable discussion will arise about why Bush did not address such-and-such a point as brought up by Michael Moore. But Moore is not a part of the debate and therefore the discussion could easily move into areas where the debates themselves become secondary.
The debates will bring up many issues and you will hear much information on the perspectives of the candidates on those issues. In some cases, the debates will bring up essentially meaningless issues. In both cases, any discussion around those aspects of the debate will be specific to the viewing of the debate.
Good luck with it. Let us know how they turn out.