2 - CNN should let Biden participate in their Democratic Presidential debate even if he doesnt run

As stated in my opponent's opening statement, CNN announced that Biden will be allowed to participate in their upcoming Democratic debate if he announces to run for president before the debate. If Joe Biden wants to participate in a debate for presidential candidates shouldn't he have to be a candidate for the nomination to participate? The following is a rebuttal of my opponent's arguments made in her opening statement: 1. CNN would hugely benefit from letting Biden in the debateAs my opponent stated "millions of people will already be tuning in to watch the first Democratic debate." CNN does not need Biden to boost ratings. The public is already interested in the debate. People want to see Bernie vs Clinton. It's the first chance to see the Democrats debating each other and with so few debates people will feel that this is one of the only chances they get to meet legitimate candidates.2. It would be a great opportunity for Biden to decide whether to ultimately run or not It is not CNN's duty to give Biden an opportunity to test the water and see how people react to his campaign. It is their duty to run a debate that gives the public an opportunity to meet the candidates running for the Democratic nomination. By allowing Biden to participate you are taking time away from people who are actually running. Also as my opponent stated the only reason Biden is not running is because he doesn't know if "his heart is in it." How would participating in the debate help him know if his heart is in for the race? A debate is a two-three hour event. A campaign is week after week, day after day talking to people, making speeches, and constantly traveling. A two hour event will not make him "know for certain" if he wants to run for president.3. The American people deserve to see Joe Biden in the debate This should say "The American people deserve to see candidates running for the Democratic nominee for President." If Joe Biden announces that he is running then by all means he deserves to be on stage, but if he does not then he should not be allowed to participate in a debate for presidential candidates. You make an apples to oranges comparison of Republican and Democratic primary numbers. Obviously a campaign with 5 candidates (6 plus Biden) would produce higher numbers for candidates than a campaign with 15 current nominees. CNN will not be "disenfranchising" anyone by requiring Biden to be a declared candidate. This will give that portion of the population to find a second choice if Biden decides against running for the Democratic nominee.Some points in favor for the current and correct policy of requiring candidates to declare they are running: 1. This is a debate for people currently running for presidentIs it really that outlandish to require people to actually be running for president to participate in a debate for president of the United States? A debate is not a way for possible candidates to try out a campaign, it is a way for actual candidates to prove why their policies are the correct way. By allowing Biden to participate you are giving him an unfair advantage of not going through the trouble of setting a campaign up and allowing him to test the water on a national stage.2. Allowing Biden to participate is unfair to candidates currently not polling wellThe DNC is not allowing many debates for candidates to participate in this year. This limits the amount of time candidates will have on a national stage. Chaffee, O'Malley and Webb will already be battling for debate time over Clinton and Sanders, but when you add in a candidate that may or may not actually run you are giving them even less time to get their names and ideas out there to some people for the first time. Fiorina showed that debates have a big impact even when polling low initially.http://www.latinpost.com...