Saul Bellow once said, “Take our politicians: they’re a bunch of yo-yos. The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of clichés the first prize.” Nobody understands this better then BYU’s History Department, which is why they are putting on a Dead Presidents’ Debate!

Yes, you heard right. On October 5th at 2pm in the WILK’s Varsity Theater, Presidents Lincoln, Jackson, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower will duke it out over who should win: Hillary or Trump. Rumour has it Jackson’s even bringing his sword.

The dead presidents are being portrayed by faculty from the history department: Grant Madsen as Eisenhower, Matt Mason as Jackson, Rich Kimball as Roosevelt, and Karen Auman as Lincoln. The event will also feature a mediator–possibly John Lehrer (played by Edward Stratford).  Dr. Stratford said this about the debate: “We wanted to create this format to help students understand that the past is the primary dimension that informs our perception of the present.” This will be made evident by the correlations drawn between history’s presidents and the current candidates.

All students, even members of the community, are invited, so that, as Dr. Stratford puts it, we can all have an opportunity to “gain some perspective on the current presidential race in a fun and informative atmosphere.”

Watch out, he adds, for the forthcoming Dead Emperor’s Debate as well.

Which presidential candidate do you think should win?