For one glorious year, I was the debate coach at Cass City High School in Michigan. At a time way before the Internet, the only research tools we had were the books and magazines we ourselves could gather. There were other schools with larger teams and budgets who were very capable of out-researching us. So we had to find a different way to win.
Debates were often about how many quotes or researched references a debater could squeeze in in the time allotted It almost became a scorecard, so that if they had 7 quotes supporting their side, you just had to rapid fire 8 quotes to beat them. It often involved the ability to speak fast and deliver the most quotes per minute. It didn't make for an interesting or even informative contest.
So my debaters learned to be more communicative, colorful if you will, with their language. We concentrated on the non-verbal part and our rhetorical flourishes. I had some highly intellectual debaters who also knew how to give a good speech with a flourish. We didn't win the state, but we were good enough to finish third, the most successful finish the school had ever had to that date.
But we didn't lie to do it. We didn't make up facts. We stuck to the truth, and we supported our more flourishing rhetoric.
Governor's Romney's non-verbals were superb for what he needed. The President's were not that good. Not sighing Al Gore bad, but still not very good. In debate parlance, when Romney raised a point, President Obama did not rise up to refute or combat it.
To me, of course, Governor Romney came across as manic used car salesman. I thought I was going to be offered twice the Sham Wow for the price of one. But I'm not insane. I saw the poll results. That's not what wide swaths of low information voters saw. They saw a man taking charge of the debate, even disrespecting the moderator, a man whose positions appeared to be much more moderate than they had been led to believe.
That's because Governor Romney was lying. He was denying everything he had been advocating for months, and finally shifting to the middle. What a perfect place to do it. Especially if you have no core, and your only value is to get elected President at all costs.
And there was nothing the President could (it would have been nice if he looked up more, but, oh well). How do you, as they say, nail jello to the wall? You could tell the President was visibly thrown off when Governor Romney denied his own tax plan. If the man was going to lie about the very basics, what the heck could you do?
Should President Obama have challenged Romney more? Yes, I think so, but it may not have had the results you expect. President Obama cannot do what Governor Romney did. He could not appear manic - his whole presidency is built on his calm, cool demeanor. He couldn't even do the vicious zingers Romney did. The one time he did something even close, according to a focus group, it was President Obama's worst moment in the debate (when he said Romney was saying "never mind" to his own tax plan). And why can't he do what Romney did? Partly because he is the President of the United States and carries a higher dignity than the challenger. But mostly because President Obama is black, and this country would be completely wigged out by anything that could be convoluted as the "angry black man". My post from two years ago, Authentic Frontier Gibberish, deals in depth with this topic.
The next debate is a town hall format. The President should do better (I hope). And if there is any justice in the world, the lies and Flim-flannery that Governor Romney used will be exposed.
So, yes, for the context of one debate, without resorting to that pesky fact-checking, Governor Romney was a master debater. But I have a feeling if it were a high school debate, he would have lost big time. Yes, he was rhetorically more dynamic and engaging, but call me a stickler Call me too fussy. But I don't think you can win just by making s---- up.
But, who knows?
American voters, particularly the low-information swing voters - it's going to be up to you.
Now is a good time to pray.
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