Presidential Debates are, without a doubt, must watch
television. Even if a voter already has their mind made up 100% on who they are
voting for, they still tune in to watch the debates. Always looking for that
one knock-out punch or a candidate tripping over the final hurdle (I can’t help
it, I’m a sports guy. They are the other reference I can think of. I apologize
in advance if there are more). But do the debates even matter? Does their
impact on the voters who aren't 100% really matter? I argue yes.
Like I said, the debates are MUST WATCH TV! Everyone is
watching them. Everyone from the millionaires in Beverly Hills to the small
town families in Montana watches these debates. For most, the debates are their
only source
of information about the candidates. They take what they see and hear in the
debates and make their decision based solely on that.
"I'm going to stop the subsidy
to PBS," Romney said. "I'm going to stop other things. I like PBS, I
love Big Bird. Actually, [I] like you, too. But I'm not going to keep on
spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for.”
"You mention
the Navy, for example, and the fact that we have fewer ships than we did in
1916. "Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets," said the president. "We have these things called aircraft
carriers and planes land on them. We have ships that go underwater, nuclear
submarines." Obama drove the point home, "It's not a game of
Battleship where we're counting ships, it's 'What are our priorities?'"
THESE are the
things people remember from debates. The quotes that can knock an opponent out –
BOOM! Or trip over the final hurdle – D’OH! (Homer Simpson voice). The debates
matter.
And you can laugh
at these now…
I certainly agree that these debates are a must watch. I like the selection of examples you provided because those are the quotes we remember, as you said. Along with "binders full of women", there are so many memorable quotes from each debate and I honestly believe that is why the already-decided voters tune in. Despite already knowing their decision it is fun to see who will be attacking who more successfully in these "bouts"
ReplyDeleteThe debates are definitely important, but we have also seen how the second and third debates have a much smaller effect on the polls. While it may not be true universally across all debated it was certainly shown this year. This would ultimately render Obama's many points, which have been shown above, as useless. He may have gotten his point across very well, but was he just too late to make a difference?
ReplyDeleteI think what was even better than the one-liners were the moments when the gloves came off, so to speak. For instance, the town hall debate when Romney stopped Obama from talking saying, "that was a statement not a question." It made for an entertaining debate but more importantly it seemed as though the candidates were more vested in the discussion. I think the nature of our most recent debates offered a lot more than the stuffy, yellow light-red light debates of 2004.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't quite say the debates were a must watch. A lot of people were saying that after watching the first debate, they could not continue to follow the next two. I honestly have no idea whether or not these debates help voters decide on who they want to win. I think they have more entertainment value than anything else. 90% of the time Obama and Romney don't fully answer the question, so what are we really watching? I think we are watching a type of boxing match. Viewers are just waiting for those "knock-out punches."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelly. It seems to be more of a spectacle, another bit of "political theater" in a sense. Who's going to say something funny, what's going to trend on Twitter, who's going to make who look like an idiot? Even though it seems like the candidates are both trying to drive their points home, it gets a bit over the top, and at the end I don't remember who had the better ideas, I just remember "The 1980's are calling, and they want their foreign policy back."
ReplyDelete