Will TV debates matter that much?

[Bucky]

I'm looking as forward as the next Democrat to seeing Bush get knocked about in the next fall's presidential debate. But I wonder if they'll be that big a deal come October.

First off, Bush consistantly does better than expected in these things--if only because no one expects that much from him. Second off he may not choose to debate at all.

But mostly there is only a shrinking number of people who actually watch the TV debates. In 1980 Presidential Debate viewers made up 35% of the country's population--more than one in three Americans saw Jimmy Carter and Bonzo debate. In 2000 viewership represented only one in seven Americans. That's pretty weak.



I think we need to do two things in the fall. One is write to papers, call TV & radio shows, and make as much noise as possible to insist that the president who takes 40 vacation days a year damn well better free up three or four evenings to argue about the country's future. And second we need to push push push for everyone we know who isn't sold on Kerry yet to watch him and Bush side by side.

[ClintonTyree]

1. With all the controvery.................

surrounding the BFEE at the moment, I believe viewership will increase tremendously.
If Bush's feet are held to the fire by the chosen moderator :eyes: and Bush isn't allowed to wear an ear piece to coach him on answers, he'll get his ass handed to him.
Oh that this would be the case, but I'm not holding much hope for this scenario.

[Gore1FL]

2. If the Kerry/Bush debate

is anything like the Bartlet/Ritchie debate on The West Wing, it will!

Kerry needs to rhetorically bitchslap W.

[rpannier]

3. It Depends How Polarized It is by Then

If the vast majority of Americans have either become so fed up with shrub, or disenchanted by Kerry that you cannot sway anyone than the answe of course is "NO." The debates will mean nothing. If there still is a large undecided or a lot of weak support for one or both candidates, then the debates become meaningful. The problem is, you have CSPAN, CNN, Headline news, msnbc, and faux news on all the time. Twenty five years ago you actually had to pay attention and watch some of the debate to know what the candidates were saying. Now we're beaten about the head by it.
Maybe that's why no one watches.