This Wednesday is the first of three presidential debates
before the November election. If you
read the news, both candidates are claiming the debate is critical for their
election and at the same time trying to downplay expectations.
Downplaying expectations seems to be a critical piece to
debate success. Trying to get the
general population to not expect much from you in order to, ”wow” them at the
debate has proven to be an effective strategy.
It seems very backwards to me, but that is probably one of many reasons
why I am not running for president.
The debate will be televised on all major networks and seen
by millions of voters and future voters.
While many people know who they are going to vote for, many do not. The debate is a tool that puts the candidates
side by side in order for people to compare.
The first televised debate took place in 1960, but it was
not until 1976 that the debates have become a regular and critical part of the
election. The effects of the 1960 debate
and the obscure campaign laws deterred candidates and networks from sponsoring
presidential debates.
In 1960 a young and
energetic candidate from Massachusetts stole the show and won the election in
the first ever televise debate. John F.
Kennedy looked poised and comfortable when he challenged the favored Richard
Nixon to a debate. It was not only the
appearance of Kennedy, but Nixon displaying nerves and sweating which made many
people question his leadership ability.
You can understand why all future frontrunners refused to debate until
it was no longer an option in 1976.
The campaign law which required equal television time to be
given to all candidates found a loophole which made debates a possibility in
1976. The candidates were up for the
challenge, but also had little room to refuse.
While the debate in 1976 did not swing the voters in the same way as
1960, it did provide Jimmy Carter the opportunity to display his presidential
qualities versus incumbent Gerald Ford.
Sitting presidents and incumbents have used the debates to
address the public’s perception and neutralize criticisms. Future President Ronald Reagan used the
debate in 1980 to ask the American people if they were better off today than
they were four years prior. This
question helped to convince many voters to move away from President Carter. He used the debates in 1984 to show his
humorous side and make a joke out of his age, which was polling as a concern
among voters.
While the debates have proven effective, they have also gone
to the point of absurdity. Polls
following the debate measure likability, personality, persuasiveness and other
characteristics. They have fact checkers
and analysis which measure everything including the number of nouns and verbs
used by a candidate. For an example of
what they measure you can check out the site concerning the 2008 debate.
Lexical Analysis : http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/debates/
Why do you think the televised debates have become so
important in American presidential politics?
Do you think the way a candidate looks should be a reason to vote for or
against somebody? What do you think is
the best way for voters who are undecided to choose a candidate? The debates? Newspapers or news television?
Or some other way?
i think like you said a lot of people vote for president by how good there president looks.
ReplyDeleteanother reason i would vote for a person is for how there speech is like if there confident of becoming president.
oh and im the person who just posted the one that saidi think like you said a lot of people vote for president by how good there president looks.
ReplyDeleteanother reason i would vote for a person is for how there speech is like if there confident of becoming presiden
and im Ben
ReplyDeleteben:i think like you said a lot of people vote for president by how good there president looks.
ReplyDeleteanother reason i would vote for a person is for how there speech is like if there confident of becoming president.
Emily- Televised debates have become more important because everyone didn't go to the debates before and so barely any people voted for the president. I don't really think looks matter, it just matters how they act in front of people. I think television is the best way for voters that don't know which candidate to vote for.
ReplyDeleteKylee- I think it became important because everyone wanted to see it, not just the people who lived in the state it was held in. No because you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover. I think the people should listen to the people and what they say they are going to do to America.
ReplyDeleteSam-Televised debates have become important in American politics because most people have a TV in their house today, and so people can see it from just about everywhere. They also let the candidates show off their qualities that would make them look like a good president to the average person. I do not think that the way a person looks should be a reason to vote for them because a presidential candidate can have better idea on how this county should be run and how they look should not influence that. Obviously some people do think otherwise but how you look for being a good to reason to vote for someone is a little ridiculous. I think the best way for undecided voters is watch them speak and how comfortable they are speaking. Also look at the debates and see how they react to different situations. And lastly, go with your gut, if something seems off about a candidate then don’t vote for them. Make sure you feel comfortable about your choice.
ReplyDeleteGrace- Debates that have been televised are so important because not everyone can go to the actual debates, but now that it is on television, everybody can watch it because we all have T.V's. The way the running presidents look matters a lot because everyone wants a young and healthy looking president these days. I think the best way to vote for voters who aren't sure who to vote for is through T.V News because if they listen to what the presidents have to say, they will know their own opinion on who they think will be the best president.
ReplyDeleteClaire- Televised debates have become so important in American politics because most people decide who they are going to vote for based on the candidate's performance and speech. No, the way a candidate looks should not be a reason to vote for or against somebody because a candidate could not look very good from the outside, but may be a very good person on the inside. Or a candidate could look very good on the outside, but may be a rude person on the inside. The best way for voters who are undecided to choose a candidate would be to think about the candidates for a couple minutes. See whose personality is the best and is enthusiastic in everything they say. Those people who are undecided, choose who you vote for wisely.
ReplyDeleteHenry -Televised Presidential debates have become very important to the American Politics because in this era most people vote based off of the candidates' speeches and ideas to help our country. Yes, I think the candidate's looks should be factored in because they want to try to wi over the voter's votes. I think the debate would make that person decide which candiate to vote for.
ReplyDeleteGraci- Televised debates have become very important in American Presidental Politics because many people debate on who their voting for by how there performance and speech is. No , the candidate's looks should be counted in because it doesn't matter how they look, it matters how they gave and did their speech. I think the best way for a person to vote for the canidate is through television because Presidental Debates are live so they couldn't take back what they didn't mean to say, you would know what the canidates said directly.
ReplyDeleteMargaret- Televised debates has been so important because more people can see and hear the candidates and usually people didnt want to go or leave their house. I dont think that the looks of the candidate matters it matters how well they can speek in front of lots of people and how they will try and make our contrey better. I think that their own website like 'Barak Obama.com' is the best way because it tells true facts about them and how they try to make our contrey a better place.
ReplyDeleteVictoria-Televised debates have become very important in Presidental politics because people vote on how the preformance was and there appearance. i dont think appearance should be how you vote because someone could be really ugly but have a very good speach. I think people should choose their candidate by researching them on the news or computer
ReplyDeletemckai-I think that telavised dabates has changed peoples dacions and makes life easy. I do think it makes a difrence on how they look to other people but it doesnt make amy diffrence to me its ho you are on the inside not the out side. listen to what they have to say and see if they say anything about there plan.
ReplyDeleteTelevised debates have become so important to us, because now people are not just able to hear what the candidates have to say, but they also can judge them by what they look like. Judging a leader by what they look like is wrong. As long as they are a good and honest leader, nothing else matters. I think the way you should decide who you are going to vote for is by listening to their speech, and see how they present themselves in public. I think the best way to vote for a candidate is to listen to them on the radio, but not on the TV so you can’t see what they look like.
ReplyDeleteThat comment was posted by Madeline.
ReplyDeleteAustin- I think the debates are so important because the televised gives both canidates an opertunity to hear both opinions on the various issues. NO because you shouldnt judge a book by its cover. I think the debates because you hear the canidates speak for themselves rather then hear a reporter summerize the canidates opinion.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah-I think that televised debates are important because without it many people would not be able to see it. Also because when someone is edgy and nervous they could also hesitate when an important matter rises up.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth- I believe that debates are important because before the debates were telivised people would just vote for the person that they thought were more interesting. Then they put the debates on TV and more people voted for the more appeling person. I think that alot of people still do that and I dont really know. I think that people who dont know who to vote for they should watch the debates and see who they like more..
ReplyDeleteI think it is good that the presidenal elections got televised because more people could watch and see what the look like while
Deletethey talk. I do not think they should judge people on how they look but pay attention to how well they are a public speaking.
This is Welles. Sorry
DeleteCharlie- I think people want to see what the president looks and how well his speech was like. If he looked scared and nervous then I would not vote for him on the other hand if he was confident and proud of what he was saying then I would probably vote for him. Well I do not think that if the president does not look good and has a great speech and would be a great president then I do not think that you should judge a book by it's cover. If I did not no want candidate I would vote for then I would not vote.
ReplyDeleteEmile-i think its important for presidential debets to be herd for all of america to listen to and see.no i quit think its actually pathetic Ex ( her looks sooooo cute) thats pathetic. news is the best way to find out who to vote for.
ReplyDeleteRobert-I think that the debates have become so important because they have helped decide for someone who they will vote for. I do not believe that looks matter on a presidential election because i think that the candidates ideas matter a lot more rather than just looks. I think that the best way that a person could find out about who they should vote for would be a presidential debate because then the voter could listen to the candidates ideas and agree or disagree.
ReplyDelete