Do debates matter, or do we just want to see them? | Bill Cotterell
Has anything any candidate has said in a debate ever changed your thinking about that politician’s qualifications to hold public office?
Have you ever supported one nominee for president, Congress, or the governor’s office when you tuned in a debate, but switched to the other contender because of some special brilliance — or stupidity — displayed in one of those hour-long candidate confrontations?
Yeah, me neither.
Yet we expect people running for major offices to square off a time or two, or more, in the latter stages of most campaigns. It’s as if seeing them mouth well-rehearsed themes will help us decide which of them can do the best job for the next two, four or six years.
The news media love debates because there’s always the chance that one combatant will score a game-changing blow or, better yet, commit a career-killing mistake. The candidates like them, provided they can be stage-managed for maximum political exposure and tactical advantage. And involved voters like debates for the same reason football fans like a big game — even if your side is losing, the spectacle is fun.
We’ve been hearing a lot about debates lately, in Florida and around the country, as the 2022 elections head into their final month. Reasons for wanting them, or wanting to avoid them, probably haven’t changed since Lincoln and Douglas were running against each other in Illinois.
If you’re trailing, you want as many debates as possible, if only to physically put yourself on equal footing with the frontrunner, usually the incumbent officeholder. If you’re out front, and have all the advantages of money and momentum, you probably want to look like you’re not afraid to defend your positions — but once is enough.
That’s why Gov. Ron DeSantis has agreed to just one debate with ex-Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee hoping to deny DeSantis a second term and derail his bid for the White House two years from now. That’s also why U.S. Rep. Val Demings, the Democrat challenging Sen. Marco Rubio, is more interested in debating than the Republican incumbent has been.
There may be more later, if frontrunners feel like it, but time is getting short.
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Candidates of all stripes always say debating gives the voters a chance to hear a frank discussion of issues and to make opponents address matters they would rather avoid. That’s possible, but rare. More often, both candidates are well-prepared to hammer home their own talking points and artfully dodge everything else.
After repetitive message content, the second factor is physical appearance in debates. Historians noted that in the Nixon-Kennedy debates of 1960, people who heard it on the radio thought Nixon won but those who watched TV remembered the Republican’s sweaty forehead and nervous eyes. President George H.W. Bush made an ill-timed glance at his watch, while Bill Clinton exuded empathy by roaming the stage and making personal contact with each questioner in the audience.
Did anybody remember anything Gov. Lawton Chiles and Jeb Bush said in 1994 — except for the governor’s remark that “The he-coon walks just before the light of day?” The only memorable moment of Crist’s debate with then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 was Scott’s refusal to come on stage until the small fan at Crist’s feet was removed. (There’d been an agreement that neither candidate could have any electronic aids. Scott belatedly came onstage.)
Issues and answers? Well, OK, but visuals and zingers are what the debate’s about.
Whether they have any substance or not, debates are big this year. Aside from Florida, having candidates meet is more important in Pennsylvania and Georgia than anything the Senate candidates up there might have to say. Republican Herschel Walker has been gaffe-prone, but will probably wind up debating Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, while TV Dr. Mehmet Oz has booked one with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania.
But in all these shows, the important thing is just that the debate occurs, rather than anything any of the candidates say.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat Capitol reporter who writes a twice-weekly column. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.co
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