A lot has been made about the optics in the first debate of the Democrats in the 6th Congressional District between U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton and his two challengers, Jamie Belsito and Angus McQuilken.
Apparently, when Belsito requested further spacing and an additional table at the last minute, the organizers went and got her a new table to increase the space. The next day the headlines, pushed by Belsito herself, were about the optics of her smaller table, and that she was wronged because she was a woman. This manufactured outrage is unfortunate and took away from a substantive, successful debate.
But in watching Moulton debate his challengers, one thing stood out to me — and no, it wasn’t that anyone was seated at a smaller table. It was that Moulton was the only participant wearing his mask while not speaking (as the moderator did, too).
Perhaps if McQuilken and Belsito want to have their seat at the table, they should learn to lead by example. I can only guess why neither of them chose to wear a face mask, especially if one of them was so concerned that she asked for a change to the seating, to be further than six feet apart. Maybe they were concerned about the optics of covering their faces? Politicians, even those aspiring ones, love to see their own faces on TV.
Actions speak louder than words, and Moulton’s action made crystal clear that he was the only one concerned about health and safety over optics in that debate.
Terry John
Lynn
