John Judis doubts tonight's debate format will prove effective.
In tonight’s debate, the candidates will be asked questions from “uncommitted” voters who will represent, by Gallup’s calculation, the demographic makeup of the electorate. Most of the griping about this format will probably center on the rule preventing follow-up questions from either the voters or the moderator – or, for that matter, the candidates themselves. It’s a format made to order for prepared responses that have been pre-tested on focus groups...
I wonder whether a voter who at this point says he or she is “uncommitted” is most capable of formulating a telling question to the candidates...
The debate format reflects, above all, the tyranny of the opinion polls, which have become not merely an entertaining mirror on the electorate during elections, but part of the elections themselves. They don’t just predict results, but determine them... Tonight the effect of the polls will not only be to make the debate less entertaining, but less likely to contribute to an informed choice in November.
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