What Determines Who “Wins” a Political Debate?
The key factors that determine success in a political debate
As the 2020 presidential election is approaching, Americans have witnessed two drastically different debates — and dreadful competing town halls — for which were supposed to help Americans get to know the presidential candidates better. This year’s election comes with high stakes yet it’s nearly impossible to gather coherent and meaningful messages from the two campaigns after witnessing these events. How can one diplomatically decide who won?
President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden started the debate season with nothing less than a jaw-dropping performance — not due to the success but rather due to the utter disaster that ensued on the debate stage on September 29th. With incessant interruptions, a multitude of unnecessary facial expressions, and barely a word on policy, it was nearly impossible to sort out what just happened, let allow who won.
Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence’s debate on October 7th had a more civilized approach. Viewers were able to comprehend different policies the campaigns wanted to implement in the next four years, and of course, the interrupting was less than it had been eight nights prior. Though the abundance of dangerous lies and the viral fly that visited Pence’s head made it hard to distinguish the successes of this debate.
It still stands to reason — who won? What determines who wins a debate? How is better defined? It’s a loaded question and certainly, not everyone’s answers will match. However, there are a few keys factors that come into play when determining the answer to this rising question.
How Is “Winning” Defined?
Conveying policy
Arguably the most important factor is policy. Presidential administrations make specific promises to the American people before (or while) they’re in office. The country faces conflicts on opposite sides of the political spectrum on topics from anywhere between abortion, climate change, and gun reform. What’s important is what these presidential candidates are going to do about these pressing issues. How well did the candidates convey their policies when asked about the country’s leading issues? This means skillfully answering the questions and giving a clear and comprehensive answer.
Competing with the opponent
Of course, it’s a debate, therefore there are two people on the stage trying to compete with each other. It’s essential that candidates note their opponent’s failures. However, what’s most important is how they will fix these failures and what they’ll do in the future to prevent these same issues from happening again. These claims need to be truthful. Simply stating negative statements about the opponent means nothing if it doesn’t return to policy. Remember — it’s a debate. Candidates are supposed to answer the questions posed by the moderator and present their argument as eloquently as possible rather than constantly ridiculing their opponent.
Disposition
This point is a tad more subjective. However, anyone, no matter how involved in politics they are, can decipher someone’s general disposition. This is the President of the United States we’re talking about. A president should be well-composed, professional, and polite. Getting lost in the heat of the moment during a debate can be a distraction, but being blatantly disrespectful to the opponent and possibly other American viewers demonstrates a disposition and attitude that shouldn’t be associated with the leader of the free world.
Treatment of the moderator
Unfortunately, sometimes candidates act like they’re debating the moderator rather than their opponent. The moderator is a neutral party in a debate. They’re simply there to ask legitimate questions that could be answered by both competitors. Their job is to give candidates an equal amount of speaking time and to keep in the allotted 90 minutes. Candidates should be polite to the moderator and respect their requests when asked to finish their thought. The moderator is, as the name most obviously implies, a moderator. They keep the debate in check. There wouldn’t be a debate without the moderator. It would instead be a disorganized, political conversation. Disrespecting, interrupting, shouting, or any other unprofessional behavior directed towards the moderator only lowers the success of a candidate’s overall debate performance.
Swaying undecided voters
In an election, like that of 2020, the two presidential candidates usually stand on opposing ends of the spectrum in terms of policy. Though, somehow there’s always a group of undecided voters who are the most important audience members for debaters. Debates are a (usually) organized way for presidential candidates to quickly inform the American public about who they are and what they want to do as president. Undecided voters get to know the candidates better in this intimate debating scenario and getting their vote could significantly influence the outcome of the election.
Confirmation Bias
Unfortunately, the majority of voters are set in their ways about their ideologies and who they will vote for in the election. This bias will then encourage these voters to claim their candidate won the debate, even if they didn’t consider the several factors that determine why a debater truly won. Attempting to ignore political bias and critically looking at the candidate’s performance is how a winner is effectively chosen. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however, facts overrule opinions. The winner of a debate doesn’t determine who will win the election or who the better candidate is. It can be related, however in its simplest form, choosing who won a debate is only an opinion of who performed better in a televised 90-minute conversation.
Recap
Politics are far (like outer space far) from being simple. However, analyzing certain aspects of the democratic process can allow voters to make better-informed decisions about who they can proudly vote for. In a debate, the leading characteristics that sway a candidate closer to victory are conveying effective policy, convincing the audience as to why their strengths out way their opponents, having a professional and presidential disposition, being respectful to the moderator, and convincing undecided voters to vote for them. Use these traits to make an informed decision next time you’re asked who won a political debate.
