I only saw parts of the debate last night. Other than fielding questions via video, the debate’s big gimmick was showing the real-time response of the audience. This has been used earlier this year, but I haven’t seen one that show the entire time over the screen like you saw last night.
My take on it:
- The feedback is pretty amazing, and you can pinpoint thoughts, ideas, and more often inflections that seem to spike the responses. And that’s good to know. Unfortunately, it will know doubt lead to advisors just suggesting that the candidate use that inflection more often, or say that line more times, until the whole thing is more like a Broadway play than it is a campaign.
- I’m glad I got to see the results in real-time on TV, but you can’t help but be biased by knowing “what everyone else thinks.” If I see that men really like something that McCain said, I am no doubt swayed to at least think I should be thinking that way, too. So, in a way, it might be forging the impressions of the viewing public more than it’s giving feedback on the live audience.
P.S. Of the small cuts I saw, I was most impressed with Huckabee. Forget that he and I share the same faith; I love his style of answering questions and not being afraid to take a position and stand by it, which he did several times last night. Romney certainly looks and acts the most presidential, and that’s probably going to win him the nomination.
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