A Universal Interest: The Speaker's Lobby

Presidential debates changed television.

During the 2020 debate, former President Trump yelled at President Biden, "You want to appoint a lot of new Supreme Court justices – far-left!"

"Will you shut up man?" implored Mr. Biden.

And television changed politics.

"According to Walter Podrazik, television curator at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, it is not as simple as saying, "You must look good on television, so if you don't, you're doomed." Instead, one must learn how to communicate effectively through the medium that most people understand, as television is a familiar and widely watched form of media."

In Thursday night's debate, President Biden confronted former President Trump with the issue.

Mr. Trump performed better due to his energetic demeanor, while President Biden appeared pale and disengaged.

Regardless of what Mr. Biden stands for or his policies, the sentence can be rewritten as: "It doesn't matter what Mr. Biden represents or his policies."

When it comes to the debate, you must excel at television.

Debates imprinted the importance of live performance onto the debate genre.

The mixed reality TV show with political themes – before reality TV existed.

During a 1984 debate, President Ronald Reagan, who was 73 years old, stated that he would not use his opponent's youth and inexperience for political gain.

During the 2012 presidential debate between Mitt Romney and Obama, Romney stated, "They gave us binders filled with women."

During a debate with Mr. Trump, Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee and former Sen. from New York, was discussing the Social Security Trust Fund when Trump interrupted with a volley.

"Such a nasty woman," sneered the former President.

Debates also amplify on-screen gaffes.

In 1976, during a debate with future President Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford stated that there was no Soviet domination in Eastern Europe.

The remark shocked the press corps.

And Cold War Eastern Europe.

However, debates sometimes deliver unexpected humor.

In a debate with future President Bill Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush, Ross Perot, the 1992 independent presidential candidate, boasted, "I’m all ears!"

Perot's facial features were prominent, resembling two taxi doors attached to a crew cut.

The image of former President Trump appearing behind Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential debate is what most people remember, not necessarily what was actually said.

Sometimes viewers recall what a candidate does during the debate.

Al Gore, the former Vice President and 2000 Democratic Presidential nominee, is known for his dramatic sighs of frustration during George W. Bush's speeches.

In 1992, Bill Clinton, Perot, and Bush 41 briefly rested against stools during a debate moderated by Carole Simpson on ABC News.

The elder Bush slipped a glance at his wristwatch.

After one term, viewers perceived Mr. Bush's presidential peek as a subliminal signal that his time in office was coming to an end.

The 2020 presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump represented a significant shift in how American voters perceive the debate format. Both campaigns collaborated directly with CNN to create the debate, marking the first significant change to debates since 1988. Unlike previous debates, the campaigns opted to bypass the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) this time.

Since 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates has overseen all 33 presidential and vice presidential debates, including the town hall format that allows average citizens to directly question the candidates.

Ken Bone, an Illinois power plant worker, gained brief fame after the 2016 town hall debate due to his red sweater.

The first presidential debate on September 25, 1988, took place at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., with then Vice President Bush and then Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D) participating.

How they conduct the debates is almost as important as the debates themselves.

Ronna McDaniel, the former RNC Chairwoman, argued on Fox Business in early 2022 that the commission had displayed bias and that what was needed were free and fair debates.

The GOP urged its presidential candidates to decline participating in any unapproved debates.

The Biden campaign rejected the Commission on Presidential Debates and pushed for two debates, one in June and another in September. The campaign also demanded certain rules, including the option for moderators to mute a candidate's microphone.

Both Biden and Trump took their feud beyond the White House.

As in outside the Commission on Presidential debates.

Mr. Trump offered a dare to the President.

"Former President Trump has invited 'crooked Joe' to engage in a debate at any time and in any location," he stated.

President Biden confronted his rival, Mr. Trump, about the court schedule in the defamation trial in New York.

""I'll do it twice, buddy. You're free on Wednesdays," said President Biden in a message posted to X."

And so the gamesmanship squeezed out the Commission on Presidential Debates.

"Frank Fahrenkopf, who has led the CPD since its inception in 1987, stated that what the candidates wanted to do was what they believed was in the best interests of their candidate. "There are two distinct candidates," he said."

Fahrenkopf is upset the debates aren’t staged at universities.

Fahrenkopf stated, "You've lost the campus involvement and focus on civics among kids."

Fahrenkopf also lamented the loss of the town hall meeting.

"Fahrenkopf observed that the most popular format is no longer in use."

What would Ken Bone say?

The first televised presidential debate in 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon set a precedent for American politics and television.

According to Podrazik of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, this is one of the rare instances where neither party or candidate has control over the environment. As a result, if you're a voter trying to make a decision or seeking confirmation, this is the time to observe it.

The League of Women Voters organized debates until the Commission on Presidential Debates took over in 1988.

Podrazik stated that politics provided a baseline reality that television could embrace.

The first presidential debate without a studio audience since 1960 was between President Biden and former President Trump. It is uncertain who won the contest, whether it was future President John F. Kennedy or future President Richard Nixon.

After getting out of the limousine, Nixon's knee smarted and he sported a five-o-clock shadow.

Meantime, Kennedy appeared cool and confident.

According to the saying, those who listened to the radio thought Nixon won, while those who watched TV believed Kennedy won.

The belief that it's a common debate is a myth, despite its frequent appearance in American political science textbooks.

Can you find the study or survey that supports the Nixon/Radio vs. Kennedy/TV hypothesis?

The complexity of television is highlighted by the fact that it is more effective than radio in terms of raw debate.

And that’s something else the merging of television and politics provides.

"It's all in pursuit of the audience," said Podrazik.

And that’s a universal interest between media and politicians.