Tale as old as time…
(to quote Beauty and the Beast, LOL)
I was picking up relatives at the airport so I missed 90% of the debate…the first time it aired. Like an idiot I stayed up to watch the 1am broadcast. I am tired today.
Did anyone else watch the individual interviews of the candidates by the CNN panel immediately following the end of the debate? The panelists challenged the candidates on things they said or didn’t say during the debate itself. It was rather instructive to hear their answers.
And there’s the problem for me. I’m hoping for someone to step out of the box and sway my opinion, but my opinion(s) of them still haven’t changed all that much. There’s at least one candidate that seems to stick to the same talking points ALL THE TIME. And for me, it’s almost become a “drinking game” (say the same phrase and drink!), even though I don’t drink. Actually, maybe I should at this point. 
Actually some of them do make the effort to answer the question. I really appreciate it when they do that, even if they then pivot to their talking points.
Thank you to whoever it was who mentioned upthread The Atlantic podcast for longer interviews.
That one was off my radar.
as it turned out, I did end up watching the whole thing. To me, the 1st question was a total waste of 15 minutes of air time. Every candidate has already made clear where his/her position is, and they are all the same. Not too sure what Anderson Cooper was after in that q, but there is no debate if everyone agrees on the answer to the question. Cooper could have saved a bunch of time by just asking for a show of hands to the question.
(hopefully, that’s general enuf to not get our Mod too excited…)
It wasn’t; I edited.
This describes everyone in my lab. We’ve been having wine and cheese nights for the debates.
Most of my fieldwork is done in Kurdistan, so I’m always especially interested in the Middle East and foreign policy questions.
I didn’t watch the debates. I will after a few have been eliminated. What I would love to see in a debate is a series of “yes or no” questions. Too often the question asked is not answered, but the politician spent 3 minutes not answering it.
No.
I watched.
@Sue22 asked
I did. I agree that their answers were interesting. I found the post-debate show more interesting than the debate itself.
^^Wish I had known/taped the post debate show.
Maybe I’m naive but I am still always impressed at the numbers and data that candidates keep stored in their minds (even if not always 100% accurate). The # of talking points they have to keep at the ready is mind boggling.
I’m guessing they get some pre-debate prompts? Even so it’s a lot to state your full detailed opinion in a matter of seconds.
I also try and keep in mind that “Johnny on the spot” answers isn’t necessarily indicative of how you’d perform in the oval office but of course is part of what they need to be able to communicate to win voters.
I always try to watch them, but generally end up watching about the first half, then skipping to the end and listening to some of the interviews afterwards. Those post debate interviews are interesting. I found this time I was unimpressed with those who are the “frontrunners” and more impressed with some in the single digits, whom I hope will move up in the polls. I didn’t hear the moderators ask any difficult questions, sadly.