By Jon Parton
The country once again is steeped in the midst of presidential debates. The debates are a relatively recent tradition in American politics, dating back to the first debate between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon in 1960.
Not only was it the first debate between two presidential candidates from opposing parties, it was also the first televised debate. The next debates would not be held until 1976, but have become a mainstay of the presidential election cycle ever since.
Political scientist James Stimson has studied the effects of the debates on the general election and have generally found little to no correlation between debate performance and vote results. He wrote the findings in his book “Tides of Consent: How Public Opinion Shapes American Politics.”
Jerry Magliano, professor, Personal Computer Applications and adviser to the College Republicans, said that the debates have never changed his opinion about a candidate but believes they could.
“In this particular election cycle, it didn’t matter because I’ve been studying the candidates for a long time,” Magliano said. “I never felt anything but good about Romney.”
The first debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney was memorable for the tendency of both candidates to speak longer than their allotted time, much to the chagrin of moderator Jim Lehrer. Twitter users quickly tweeted about the job Lehrer was doing and the debate was parodied on Saturday Night Live.
Magliano said despite the complaints, he enjoyed Lehrer’s moderation.
“I’m not as critical of him as maybe other people might be,” Magliano said. “I thought it was a good debate. I really did. It was something that I didn’t have any problems sitting through for an hour and a half.”
Brian Wright, professor, Political Science, said the first debate might have confused some voters since both candidates spoke about policy.
“If you listened to what he [Obama] was saying, I think it was so policy wonk that no one could actually follow it,” Wright said. “So then they just followed the popularity type thing. They’re watching the image of the performance.”
Wright said he believes the debates are only informative for people who do not follow politics.
“It’s not that informative,” Wright said. “It’s not really a debate, right? So more of a trying to manage what you’re going to say to the people out there rather than a real debate.”
Joseph Gideon, student, believes the debates do have some impact on the election, but not for the reasons most people think.
“I don’t think the view of the candidate changes,” Gideon said. “I think it’s the charisma and articulation of the candidate that may sway voters. But overall, most people have already decided before the debates.”
Contact Jon Parton, managing editor, at jparton@jccc.edu.