Do you remember how Romney caught up with and in some polls overtook Obama in the polls after clobbering Obama in the first debate for the 2008 elections? Romney essentially failed to press his advantage in the subsequent debates by getting his foot off the pedal by not going after Obama aggressively enough on Benghazi etc.
In the GOP primary debates, Newt Gingrich got a major bump in the polls when he took on and challenged some debate moderators for their left wing, pro Obama bias. Debates matter. They always have.
I’m counting on the Debates to “matter”. In the Debate when Candy Croley opened her hog jows and “corrected” Romney when he was correct, was one of the biggest campaign mistakes Romney made. He should have bitch slapped that fat, ugly slut on the spot.