Presidential debates invariably consume a gargantuan amount of attention and are freighted with vast significance by the candidates, the campaigns, the professional political class, and the national press corps. And every so often—the famous face-offs between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, say, or the solo debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter in 1980—they have been known and shown to move the needle appreciably among voters. But historically speaking, the instances in which debates have produced tangible electoral effects have been the exception and not the rule.
Slaughterhouse 45
John Heilemann
September 16, 2024
