Presidential Debates Could Be Pivotal for Obama and Romney

This year, President Barack Obama and his challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, will face off three times before election day, taking part in an American tradition that has shaped presidential politics for decades.

Ever since John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon stood on the same stage in front of the television cameras in 1960, presidential debates have been key components of the election process. The 1960 debates were famous for the claim made by many historians that Kennedy’s good looks and relaxed appearance helped him win the debate on television, even though people who heard it on the radio thought that Nixon had better answers to the questions.

Today, preparing for debates has become a focus for the campaigns. For days before the debates, both President Obama and Mitt Romney watch video of past performances, practice answers for possible questions and try to come up with ways of convincing undecided voters to come over to their side.

Debate moments that made a difference

	Al Gore's decision to leave the podium and come within inches of George Bush during a response led debate organizers to amend the event's rules, stipulating: "Each candidate may move about in a predesignated area."

In the history of presidential debates, there are moments that keep campaign staff up at night: debate gaffes. 

In 1976, President Gerald Ford answered a question about foreign policy this way: “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford administration.”  At the time, there were thousands of Russian troops occupying Eastern European countries such as Poland. 

Years later, Ford explained that he meant “regardless of the number of Soviet armored divisions in Poland, the Russians would never dominate the Polish spirit,” but the Democrats pounced on the mistake and used it to show that Ford was not up to the task of being president.

Other gaffes were not as obvious. In the first debate between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000, Gore could be heard sighing loudly when Bush talked, reinforcing an impression that he was arrogant.  “And then when [Gore] stalked [Bush] in the third debate and walked over and invaded his airspace, people said, I'm not comfortable with this fellow, because he doesn't seem comfortable with himself,” recalls NewsHour political analyst Mark Shields.

Obama and Romney face off

	A coin toss determines who gets to answer the first question and each candidate will get alternate turns. Once a question is asked, the candidate has 2 minutes to answer the question. After this, the opposing candidate has around 1 minute to respond and rebut his/her arguments.

This year’s presidential debates are Oct. 3, 16 and 22, with the vice presidential candidates squaring off Oct. 11. 

Political analysts say that the first debate tends to favor the challenger because “for the first time the challenger is standing on the same stage with the president. And the fact that he is not blown away or there is not an enormous stature gap between the two, whoever the challenger is, benefits from that,” explains Shield.

With President Obama ahead in many polls, he just has to “Keep Calm and Carry On” and not make any notable mistakes says NewsHour political analyst David Brooks.

Why debates matter

	The NewsHour's own Jim Lehrer will moderate the first debate on Oct. 3, 2012. It will be the 12th presidential debate he has moderated.

There is much at stake for both candidates because many voters are just starting to pay attention, argues NewsHour Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill.

“Most Americans don’t sit down and focus until the fall.  And when they sit down and focus after Labor Day, the big moments of the campaign are going to be those debates when you see these two people standing up next to each other and actually get to size them up side by side.  There aren’t going to be any other side-by-side moments in the campaign.”

Brooks argues that while debates are fun to watch, they aren’t make-or-break events.  “If you look at the pre-debate polls, the person who was ahead in those pre-debate polls has won just about every election. And so people hurt themselves. They go up and down a little. George Bush lost at least two, probably three debates to John Kerry, still beat him in the general.”

But to NewsHour Executive Editor Jim Lehrer, who has moderated more presidential debates than anyone else, the stakes are as high as they can get. “One little gesture, one little false or phony or even misinterpreted word can cause a debate to go a certain way and the presidential election to go a certain way.”