Posted on 09/24/2008 10:25:37 PM PDT by BAW
Presidential debates are important -- and the first debate is the most important of all, establishing an arc of opinion that persists unless jarred loose by big mistakes or dramatic events.
So whether this year's first presidential debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain is Friday night or postponed a few days, it may be the fall's most critical event. In the nine first debates since 1960, the perceived winner of the debate averaged a 4.2 point net swing in the Gallup poll.
Mr. Obama fought hard to have the first clash devoted to foreign policy and the last on the economy. It may be smart to end the series on his strongest turf. But that means the debates start on ground where Mr. McCain is more comfortable, having a sizable poll lead on who'd be a better commander in chief.
Here's the advice some experts I consulted offered the candidates:
First, do no harm. Persistent proficiency is better than big mistakes. Remember Al Gore's sighs in 2000? President George H.W. Bush glancing at his watch in 1992? Michael Dukakis's botched answer to Bernie Shaw's death-penalty question in 1988?
Know what you want to achieve and have that narrative down cold, for yourself and for your opponent. How do you want potential defectors and converts to see and feel about you and your opponent when it's over? How do you accentuate your strengths and his weaknesses?
Answer the questions. Voters don't like it when candidates are not responsive. Mr. McCain shone so much brighter at Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback conversation because he answered with plain talk and simple declarative statements.
People want to see candidates operating without a script. They are clamoring for spontaneity. So avoid hyper-repetition.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Well, there's a "decisive" opinion :-)
Silly me, I thought the Dancing With the Stars premiere was more important. /sarc
How many spare teleprompters is Soetoro bringing?
Do you think his puppet masters will be typing responses to the questions in real time? Mr Teleprompter reader should be giving a huge sigh of relief that he has been allowed a delay in the proceedings. Or perhaps not. The financial crisis may well have overshadowed his expected crappy performance.
But this is where the election will be decided. Those 15% are what it is all about.
That's the key, who is perceived to be the winner. This perception is largely based on who the media claims to be the winner regardless of what actually happens during the debate.
Why in the hell did McCain agree to have what is potentially his strongest debate on a Friday night? That’s crazy.
I don’t know anyone(myself included) that would sit around the house on a Friday night watching a couple of politicians on TV holding a glorified press conference.
Do supporters of Obama think his reactions today to McCain suspending campaigning was a good response? By saying presidents have to do multiple tasks at once, and that McCain needs to be at that debate even if he’s in Washington helping with the bail out negotiations?
Why isn’t Obama in Washington, when you consider he’s also a sitting Senator??????
Wouldn’t this have been a good chance for Obama to show leadership ability on a key issue? He might have made big strides towards winning the election by showing undecideds what he is made of, by taking leadership and showing how presidential he could be in a critical time. Instead, he said for them to call him if they need him, while he decides to go to still more repetitive campaign rallies????
Maybe Barry is one of those people who doesn’t like to take responsibility for anything??? This way, if this plan somehow blows up, he can say he wasn’t there, it’s not his fault, yadda, yaddda, yadda.
In a health club yesterday I overheard a forty-something woman and a twenty-something woman chatting about the upcoming debates. The younger one said she’d decide who to vote for based on the debates. In the course of their chat, the older woman mentioned the period when McCain was a prisoner for five years; the younger replied, “Gee, I didn’t know he was once in jail.” She was clueless.
hmmm I really don’t know what to think. Should I go with the socialist, who wants to talk to Iran and has a pastor that sounds like Hitler or do I go for the other guy? I’m really confused.
I don’t know that the debates change many minds, but maybe they actually do. This election has been going on forever, and I actually wonder how many people are tired of it and just want it to be over!
For many of us who are members of political forums, I think we just want to watch to see if one or the other candidate is going to do or say something stupid.
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I don’t know anyone(myself included) that would sit around the house on a Friday night watching a couple of politicians on TV holding a glorified press conference.Also, the debates are aired live time. I checked my local channel guide and here (Alaska Time) Friday’s debate is set for 5:00 PM. 6:00 Pacific time still gives perople plenty of time to watch and then go out and do their Friday night thing. I think Eastern and Central time are probably the only Friday night casualties.
That's what I meant about the popcorn eating moment. It is purely an opportunity for gags and gaffes. A little better than most broadcast TV content.
“For many of us who are members of political forums, I think we just want to watch to see if one or the other candidate is going to do or say something stupid.”
I am going to play a drinking game, every time O says “uh” I have to drink. That alone makes it worthwhile.
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