Tie Color, Anniversary Wishes, and Big Bird – Oh My!

My first major point of concern as the debate began was curiosity regarding whether the Republican candidate always wears a red tie and the Democratic candidate always wears a blue tie. Clearly I was not the only viewer to ever question this, as there were a myriad of articles about tie color choice in the Republican primaries. However, this speculation could merely be indicative of the lack of newsworthy material in the political aspect of the primary debates. Regardless, in case you, too, wondered about tie colors, here are some references: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/11/gop-debate-red-ties_n_1142039.html or http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/gop-debate-theres-more-to-a-candidates-tie-than-meets-the-eye/.

My unabashed contribution to the consumption of soft news aside, before the debate opened, Jim Lehrer stated the fact that average citizens submitted questions for the debate via the Internet. This indicates how very important what we do in this class is, because new forms of technology and communication are increasingly becoming integrated with traditional forms, such as the long-established presidential debate.  The fact that he was the ultimate decision maker in what questions would be presented mirrored the relationship of the public with the media.  While the public has an influential role in driving the kind of stories that are widely presented in the media, journalists and editors have the ultimate power to determine what goes to print or broadcast, informing viewers and readers across the nation.

As the debate opened, Obama acknowledged his wife and his anniversary; I questioned how this would be received.  Obama was really in a no-win position, as if he acknowledged it, it could easily be seen as corny or a ploy to pull at the heart strings of the viewers. However, if he had chosen not to acknowledge it, he could have been regarded as cold.  Ultimately, I think he handled it well, as did Romney who took the opportunity to congratulate Obama, while also infusing a little humor into what would otherwise be a serious evening of policy discussion.

The debate itself was expected, talking points and memorized facts galore. I was surprised by what seemed to me to be a lack of energy and eloquence in Obama, who normally dominates in these arenas.  Overall, Romney appeared to have more concrete plans for his potential presidency, supported with strong facts, which I think was crucial for him being that he has been criticized for just glossing over issues and being a “flip-flopper.”  However, I am looking forward to the fact checks that will surely come today to see whether the facts from both sides of the aisle hold water.  Do I think either candidate blew the other out of the water? No, but I do think that Romney was at least able to ignite some fire in his campaign. The one thing I can be sure of is that I never thought I would hear the words “I love Big Bird,” in a presidential debate. So thank you for that, Romney.

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