One of the most exciting parts of a presidential campaign are no doubt the debates. This is a highly publicized event where the candidates face off in a confrontation of political ideology. Unlike the usual scripted speeches we see or hear on the media, this is the once chance we get to see our political leaders in a natural environment that is completely off the script. In this setting of political and sometimes personal engagement, we get to read the candidates' reactions, body language, and overall character. In this day and age, it's not so much the agenda that wins over the public, yet rather how the person looks, speaks, and handles themselves in the spotlight. Over the past few decades debates have grown more and more popular and have served as a crucial turning point in various elections. Here is a brief look at some past presidential debates and an analysis of the recent ones between incumbent President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney.
Historic Debates
Although President Abraham Lincoln was known as a great debater, his seven debates in 1858 against Stephen Douglas, were for the seat of Illinois Senate and not for the office of president. Therefore surprisingly the first official presidential debate was not until 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. This event was also televised and famously caught Richard Nixon sweating on stage in the spotlight in front of 70 million viewers. There were a total of four debates that year, of which played an important role in winning JFK the presidency. These first debates were quite historic in changing the presidential race from not just one about political agenda yet also physical character as well.
There were no debates held for the next three elections from 1964, 1968, and 1972 perhaps due to the Vietnam War. It was not until 1976 that the country once again was able to tune into a national televised debate between Governor Jimmy Carter and incumbent President Gerald Ford. This would of course catch the infamous moment where Gerald Ford was caught clueless on foreign matters of the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc. Jimmy Carter would go on to win that election.
However in the 1980 debate, incumbent President Jimmy Carter was belittled on stage by a much more confident looking Governor Ronald Reagan. In the 1984 debates, Reagen would continue this humorous and confident appeal against former Vice President Walter Mondale. In 1988 it was not so much the presidential debates between George HW Bush and Michael Dukakis that caught media attention yet the Vice Presidential debates between Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bernstein. It was at this famous VP debate where Lloyd Bernstein told Dan Quayle that "He was no Jack Kennedy".
In the 1992 debate, incumbent President George H.W. Bush was constantly caught in an impatient state checking his watch and sighing against Governor Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton displayed a more affectionate and composed appeal on camera, that would finally put a Democratic back in the white house after 12 years of Republican leadership. He would continue this cool demeanor in the 1996 debate against Senator Bob Dole. However in the 2000 election, his Vice President Al Gore was unable to duplicate that famous Clinton smoothness. Gore displayed snobby and unlikable characteristics, constantly sighing on stage and shaking his head, while Governor George W. Bush was speaking.
I remember the first campaign and debates I really tuned into was the 2004 election between incumbent President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. I remember watching each of the three debates with my college friends, and always feeling that Kerry looked ten times more intelligible than George W. Bush I did. I was of course devastated when Bush would go on to win that election. However in 2008 my political passion was finally satisfied with the new fresh face of Senator Barack Obama, who steadily defeated John McCain with a similar cool demeanor as Bill Clinton.
Obama vs Romney: Night One
This first debate is usually the most important debate, that establishes the candidate's dynamic with each other. I was very nervous for what this dynamic would be between the cool and un-aggressive Barack Obama against the ruthless business-boss, Mitt Romney. Sure enough the first few minutes of the debate were very telling of a fierce top dog executive talking down to everyone in the room. It seemed quite clear from the beginning the President Obama did not have his head in the game, rather looking down at his podium, with a very uninterested demeanor.
The entire night Mitt Romney stomped over moderator Jim Lehrer, on an overly aggressive attack. In my opinion President Obama was fine on substance however certainly lacked some body language and assertiveness. The media pundits went to town on the post-debate analysis ripping Obama to shreds and boosting Romney in the polls.
Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden vs Paul Ryan
That VP debate could not come any sooner, after several days of media scrutiny on President Obama's performance. The debate was moderated by Martha Raddatz as the one and only sit-down vice presidential debate. The dynamic was clear from the beginning; an older, confident, more experienced, and passionate politician against a sharp, poised, and competitive up-and-comer. Joe Biden dominated the stage with passionate body language, laughing and smiling at Paul Ryan's accusations.
Some media pundits may say this was a rude reaction, however in my opinion a smile is far more affective than having one's head down or looking angry at the heart of opposition. Paul Ryan was however no pushover and also brought solid substance and composure throughout the debate despite Biden's aggressive stance. Joe Biden was also quite effective with spot-on fact checks and counter-points for each of Ryan's arguments. The debate pundits declared this a tie, however I think Biden clearly won the stage on both body language and substance. This was a much needed moral booster for the democratic base, however nonetheless VP debates aren't very affective in swaying voters or the polls. The attention and pressure was now on the President to redeem himself from his first night's lackluster performance.
Obama vs Romney: Night Two
On the second debate night the pressure was extremely high for President Obama to attack and outperform Mitt Romney. The setting was a town hall meeting moderated by CNNs Candy Crowley. This time both candidates had the freedom to move around on stage while taking questions from the audience. The debate began very tense, when Mitt Romney got into Obama's personal space, challenging him over oil prices. Obama was however able to maintain his composure throughout the night, with good attacks on Romney.
The big break however came over a question on Libya where Mitt Romney was seen to have gotten his facts wrong. Romney accused Obama of not mentioning the Benghazi consulate attacks as "terrorism", yet was later corrected by moderator Candy Crowley informing Romney that Obama did in fact refer to the event as an act of terror in the Rose Garden. This major flub by Romney was responded with applause from the audience, and a major game changer in the dynamic. The pundits reaction was somewhat mixed, yet in general most agreed that Obama did much better than the 1st night and that Romney shot himself in the foot by constantly interrupting the female moderator as well as getting his facts wrong on Libya.
Obama vs Romney: Night Three
The third and final debate was on foreign policy, a sit down format, moderated by Bob Schieffer. Once again the first few minutes were telling of what was to expect, and it was quite clear to me from the beginning that President Obama was sharp and on his game. It seemed quite obvious to expect that the president would have the upper hand in the foreign policy discussion due to his achievements on Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, ending the war in Iraq, bringing down Gaddafi in Libya, reducing nuclear arms with Russia, and drawing down trips in Afghanistan. He also has much more insight on foreign issues as the commander in chief, having dealt with world leaders, unlike governor Romney's zero experience with foreign leaders.
The third debate was thus a total domination by President Obama on both substance and body language. Romney shifted his strategy from the previous two debates, by agreeing mostly with the president. Of course this time many of the same media pundits had the nerve to say that Obama was being overly aggressive this time. However spin and polarization aside, the majority of the media and viewers agreed that the night belonged to the president. He thus won the debate series 2 of 3 in my opinion.
And so with the end of these very suspenseful and critical debates, we are on to the homestretch of the election. It is almost a week away and the polls couldn't be any closer. The question will come down to voter turnout and whether our nation wants four more years forward or the same policies that got us into an economic recession to begin with. The answer will come on Nov 6th.
Historic Debates
There were no debates held for the next three elections from 1964, 1968, and 1972 perhaps due to the Vietnam War. It was not until 1976 that the country once again was able to tune into a national televised debate between Governor Jimmy Carter and incumbent President Gerald Ford. This would of course catch the infamous moment where Gerald Ford was caught clueless on foreign matters of the Soviet Union and the eastern bloc. Jimmy Carter would go on to win that election.
However in the 1980 debate, incumbent President Jimmy Carter was belittled on stage by a much more confident looking Governor Ronald Reagan. In the 1984 debates, Reagen would continue this humorous and confident appeal against former Vice President Walter Mondale. In 1988 it was not so much the presidential debates between George HW Bush and Michael Dukakis that caught media attention yet the Vice Presidential debates between Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bernstein. It was at this famous VP debate where Lloyd Bernstein told Dan Quayle that "He was no Jack Kennedy".
I remember the first campaign and debates I really tuned into was the 2004 election between incumbent President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. I remember watching each of the three debates with my college friends, and always feeling that Kerry looked ten times more intelligible than George W. Bush I did. I was of course devastated when Bush would go on to win that election. However in 2008 my political passion was finally satisfied with the new fresh face of Senator Barack Obama, who steadily defeated John McCain with a similar cool demeanor as Bill Clinton.
Obama vs Romney: Night One
The entire night Mitt Romney stomped over moderator Jim Lehrer, on an overly aggressive attack. In my opinion President Obama was fine on substance however certainly lacked some body language and assertiveness. The media pundits went to town on the post-debate analysis ripping Obama to shreds and boosting Romney in the polls.
Vice Presidential Debate: Joe Biden vs Paul Ryan
That VP debate could not come any sooner, after several days of media scrutiny on President Obama's performance. The debate was moderated by Martha Raddatz as the one and only sit-down vice presidential debate. The dynamic was clear from the beginning; an older, confident, more experienced, and passionate politician against a sharp, poised, and competitive up-and-comer. Joe Biden dominated the stage with passionate body language, laughing and smiling at Paul Ryan's accusations.
Some media pundits may say this was a rude reaction, however in my opinion a smile is far more affective than having one's head down or looking angry at the heart of opposition. Paul Ryan was however no pushover and also brought solid substance and composure throughout the debate despite Biden's aggressive stance. Joe Biden was also quite effective with spot-on fact checks and counter-points for each of Ryan's arguments. The debate pundits declared this a tie, however I think Biden clearly won the stage on both body language and substance. This was a much needed moral booster for the democratic base, however nonetheless VP debates aren't very affective in swaying voters or the polls. The attention and pressure was now on the President to redeem himself from his first night's lackluster performance. Obama vs Romney: Night Two
On the second debate night the pressure was extremely high for President Obama to attack and outperform Mitt Romney. The setting was a town hall meeting moderated by CNNs Candy Crowley. This time both candidates had the freedom to move around on stage while taking questions from the audience. The debate began very tense, when Mitt Romney got into Obama's personal space, challenging him over oil prices. Obama was however able to maintain his composure throughout the night, with good attacks on Romney.The big break however came over a question on Libya where Mitt Romney was seen to have gotten his facts wrong. Romney accused Obama of not mentioning the Benghazi consulate attacks as "terrorism", yet was later corrected by moderator Candy Crowley informing Romney that Obama did in fact refer to the event as an act of terror in the Rose Garden. This major flub by Romney was responded with applause from the audience, and a major game changer in the dynamic. The pundits reaction was somewhat mixed, yet in general most agreed that Obama did much better than the 1st night and that Romney shot himself in the foot by constantly interrupting the female moderator as well as getting his facts wrong on Libya.
Obama vs Romney: Night Three
The third and final debate was on foreign policy, a sit down format, moderated by Bob Schieffer. Once again the first few minutes were telling of what was to expect, and it was quite clear to me from the beginning that President Obama was sharp and on his game. It seemed quite obvious to expect that the president would have the upper hand in the foreign policy discussion due to his achievements on Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, ending the war in Iraq, bringing down Gaddafi in Libya, reducing nuclear arms with Russia, and drawing down trips in Afghanistan. He also has much more insight on foreign issues as the commander in chief, having dealt with world leaders, unlike governor Romney's zero experience with foreign leaders.The third debate was thus a total domination by President Obama on both substance and body language. Romney shifted his strategy from the previous two debates, by agreeing mostly with the president. Of course this time many of the same media pundits had the nerve to say that Obama was being overly aggressive this time. However spin and polarization aside, the majority of the media and viewers agreed that the night belonged to the president. He thus won the debate series 2 of 3 in my opinion.
And so with the end of these very suspenseful and critical debates, we are on to the homestretch of the election. It is almost a week away and the polls couldn't be any closer. The question will come down to voter turnout and whether our nation wants four more years forward or the same policies that got us into an economic recession to begin with. The answer will come on Nov 6th.
No comments:
Post a Comment