On Thursday, October 12, MICHAEL SMERCONISH helped the Mitchell Center and Penn Political Union kick off a new series of debates featuring prominent speakers.  Smerconish took the affirmative position arguing that "political polarization in the United States is primarily the product of a hyper-partisan and sensationalist media."  In the end, the point carried 37 to 18, although the Centrist Caucus (described by Smerconish as "his people") split 4 to 4 on the issue.  See the coverage on Smerconish's CNN show here.