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Debates allow voters to evaluate candidates’ responses to important issues and character traits. They can also influence opinions through spontaneous reactions and humor. The televised 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate highlighted the importance of appearance and delivery in addition to accuracy.
Unless you’re lucky enough to live in a state with a significant number of electoral votes up for grabs, your chances of meeting a presidential candidate in person during an election campaign are extremely slim. Many political campaigns prefer to use mass media techniques to create name recognition of ballots, rather than time-consuming, low-visibility personal appearances. The only opportunity many voters have to scrutinize each candidate individually and learn about their positions on issues is through a televised debate. A debate strips away many of the layers between the candidate and voters, allowing candidates to showcase their rhetorical and leadership skills.
One way voters can use a debate to help choose a candidate is by evaluating each candidate’s responses. A panel of journalists or academic leaders are usually authorized to ask individual candidates specific questions about important issues facing the country. If the issue is about gun control laws, for example, a candidate may say they favor a blanket ban on handguns. Another might say that he would never have passed laws restricting the private ownership of guns. A third candidate might say he supports banning some weapons but not others. From these responses, individual voters can decide which candidate’s beliefs most closely match their own.
A debate can also bring up character issues not seen in commercials or public speeches. During a 1988 presidential debate, Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis was asked what he would do if his wife was raped and murdered. This question was intended to provoke an impassioned defense of Dukakis’s position against capital punishment. Instead, Dukakis gave a technical, emotionless response that didn’t directly address the question. Many voters who watched the debate were put off by his lack of emotion. A controversial question asked during a debate can provoke an unexpected emotional response from candidates, which could demonstrate a passion for the job or an undesirable display of emotion.
A debate can also influence a voter’s opinion through candidates’ ability to react spontaneously or maintain a sense of humor. Applicants are often coached on how to answer a question correctly or how to appear confident on camera. What they can’t predict is an off-the-cuff remark from other candidates. When Republican vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle compared his successes as junior senator to those of President John F. Kennedy, his Democratic opponent, Lloyd Bentsen, responded with a devastating observation. Bentsen reminded Quayle that he had worked personally with Kennedy and, according to him, Quayle was “no Jack Kennedy.” Quayle’s inability to respond back was seen by some voters as a lack of experience.
A debate may not be enough to sway every voter’s opinion, but it often gives undecided voters more criteria on which to base their vote. Some say the famous 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate encouraged swing voters to lean toward the refined Kennedy and away from a haggard-looking Nixon. Professionals rating debate content suggest that Nixon actually won more argument, but viewers perceived the camera-ready Kennedy as more presidential. This televised debate has prompted political candidates and campaign managers to focus more attention on the look and delivery, not necessarily the accuracy of their responses.
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