>“If you heard it on radio, Biden won. If you watched it on television, he lost.”
Funny, but that’s exactly what they said about the Nixon/Kennedy debates.<
I was a kid when those debates occurred. Nixon just wasn’t as photogenic as Kennedy? Or did Nixon grimace or make other visual gaffes?
I made a point of listening only. Originally, I thought Biden had the advantage but his laughing/mocking/interruptions became insufferable. It was as if he thought he’d win by speaking faster and louder than Ryan.
Eventually, Ryan’s smooth, calm sound took the lead. By the end, especially after the “Catholic/abortion” question, Biden sounded like a dithering fool, like his boss, with ahh’s and ummm’s several times per sentence. Also, Biden’s close was rather pathetic, while Ryan’s was strong.
So this radio listener ends up giving the edge to Ryan.
I didn't mean to imply that Nixon did anything comparable to Biden. His only "gaffe" was that he refused to use makeup, so his 5 o'clock shadow was obvious, and compared to the photogenic Kennedy, he looked terrible. In fact, I read that he had been in the hospital not long before the debate, and may not have been fully recovered. It was said that Nixon won on substance, but Kennedy won on optics, hence the radio vs. TV comments.