As the election draws nearer, discussions and debates are heating up and University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin?s class on presidential elections is no exception.
Monday evening, Hardin invited award-winning columnist and reporter John Brummett to speak to his class about the impact of debates on presidential elections and to assess the first two presidential debates.
Brummett, who Hardin called ?the most distinguished political writer,? has been a political columnist since 1986.
Reflecting on past elections, Brummett noted that most voters remember not the substance of the debates, but rather the political gaffes such as former President Gerald Ford?s claim in a 1976 debate that Poland and Romania were not under Soviet control.
Brummett asked students what they remembered most about the first debate of this year?s election and several responded that it was President Bush?s facial expressions. ?He looked angry,? one student, who stated she was a Republican, said.
Brummett called the debates a performance standard which the candidate must pass. ?It?s a test you must pass. It?s not about the substance,? he said. ?You cannot have genuine political substance in two minutes with a two minute rebuttal and another 30 seconds to respond to the rebuttal. Debates are about great one-liners or great moments or stupid remarks or poor posturing.?
The two things that influence elections most, according to Brummett, are the prevailing national mood and the public?s comfort level with the candidate. He noted that Democratic candidate John Kerry has had trouble making the public comfortable with him, but that the first debate seemed to change the tide.
?Kerry and Bush changed the dynamic of the race in the debates,? he said. ?Kerry did well in the first debate and Bush was scowling and frowning. The next day it was a new race. Bush no longer had a nine-point lead over Kerry in the polls. We have an entirely different race since that debate.?
-Jennifer Boyett
