# Will the other debates make any real difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 12, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488 "2012-10-12T04:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/41 "2012-10-15T03:38:59Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The foreign policy debate is made to order for Romney. He doesn’t have to say what he would do differently other than not mess up the way this admin has over Benghazi. > > Biden’s lies about it in his debate teed the issue up quite nicely. That would actually be rather foolish. Romney will make foreign policy mistakes. What he should promise is not to lie about it. Or arrest Americans for exercising 1st amendment rights. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/42 "2012-10-15T03:40:15Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Well I’ll just agree to disagree, because when Obama talked of his Mother on her death bed fighting with the insurance companies for coverage that was something that hit home .. . Or when Obama spoke of Teshawn Williams, the young boy killed in Florida and said he looked “like me” I could understand what he meant in a very tangible and moving way. Talking heads want people to think BO is aloof and professorial, except it just doesn’t work when he can talk about Basketball over a beer like a real follower of the game, or when he can be lifted up in a Pizzeria, or he can sing a little Al Green or a little Sweet Home Chicago. > > On the other hand nothing that Romney says about his personal life resonates with me at all. Well, see one difference is that Romney doesn’t talk about his personal life or the great things he’s done for people. Obama, on the other hand, just makes stuff up, like his mother fighting insurance companies. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/43 "2012-10-15T17:09:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, see one difference is that Romney doesn’t talk about his personal life or the great things he’s done for people. Obama, on the other hand, just makes stuff up, like his mother fighting insurance companies. Wow. Just … wow. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/44 "2012-10-15T17:22:50Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Or when Obama spoke of Teshawn Williams, the young boy killed in Florida and said he looked “like me” Did you mean Trayvon Martin? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/45 "2012-10-18T04:16:34Z")
Now we can _really_ begin discussing this! Has the break between the two debates cemented Mitt Romney’s earlier, arguably better image in voters’ minds, or did this latest one shake it? What do you think will happen with the polls? ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/46 "2012-10-18T05:31:26Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Now we can _really_ begin discussing this! Has the break between the two debates cemented Mitt Romney’s earlier, arguably better image in voters’ minds, or did this latest one shake it? What do you think will happen with the polls? We need a few more days before the effect of this debate filters through the polls, but I’ll predict that Obama’s chances increase after this debate. He overturned the image he had from the last debate, where he looked tired, down, and didn’t want to be there, and brought back the Obama his supporters expect from him. His poll numbers should go back up. As I said, we have to wait 3-4 days to see how it pans out. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/47 "2012-10-18T05:47:14Z")
I’m going to answer this like an IMHO poll, instead of a GD thread. None of the debates will make a difference. I personally don’t think any televised debate has made a difference since Nixon lost to Kennedy. This is honestly one of the few places where I’ve seen consistency. Everywhere else, the people who thought Obama needed to be more aggressive now say that Obama came off as too aggressive. It’s a wash. Sure, the polls will show a jump, but, just like the previous jump for Romney, they won’t amount to anything come election time. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/48 "2012-10-18T20:00:53Z")
[Blog opinion (from a conservative blog, granted) on this issue.](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2012/10/18/why-barack-obamas-debate-performance-is-irrelevant/) Presented here to stir discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Sekigahara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sekigahara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sekigahara)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/49 "2012-10-18T20:18:32Z")
All Obama has to do to win the last debate is look straight into the camera and say in his best Rick James voice: “You can’t trust this bitch! He doesn’t even drink beer!” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/50 "2012-10-18T22:05:11Z")
The early evidence can be seen in the daily tracking polls, which should have today’s results incorporating the debate. The three daily tracking polls on RCP all show gains for Romney. Gallup went from +6 to +7, Rasmussen from +1 to +2, and IBD/TIPP from -2 to tie. Rasmussen is a 3-day tracking poll, while Gallup and IBD/TIPP are 5-day polls. A one-day swing of 1 or 2 points is well within the margin of error, though. Tomorrow’s numbers should give us a bigger clue as to whether the debate helped stop Romney’s momentum. But as of this moment, it sure doesn’t look like it. The battleground state polls are also still moving generally in Romney’s direction. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/51 "2012-10-18T22:09:46Z")
Romney didn’t make all his gains in the first day after the Denver debate either. It’s too soon to judge. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/52 "2012-10-18T22:17:48Z")
True enough, and I added caveats to that effect. But after tomorrow, there’s only weekend polling until the third and final debate. So we’re not going to have much time to assess the political fallout of the last debate before the next one changes the landscape again. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488/53 "2012-10-19T03:26:12Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The early evidence can be seen in the daily tracking polls, which should have today’s results incorporating the debate. The three daily tracking polls on RCP all show gains for Romney. Gallup went from +6 to +7, Rasmussen from +1 to +2, and IBD/TIPP from -2 to tie. Rasmussen is a 3-day tracking poll, while Gallup and IBD/TIPP are 5-day polls. > > A one-day swing of 1 or 2 points is well within the margin of error, though. Tomorrow’s numbers should give us a bigger clue as to whether the debate helped stop Romney’s momentum. But as of this moment, it sure doesn’t look like it. The battleground state polls are also still moving generally in Romney’s direction. Yeah the first debate was huge for Romney. It might be the case that Obama needed to shoot the moon and run a flawless campaign in order to overcome this economy. We shall see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-other-debates-make-any-real-difference/637488.md?page=2)