Since 1960 with the first televised presidential debate, American voters were given the opportunity to watch candidates battle it out for the coveted position of American’s next president. Debates can be likened to the legal process of voir dire, French for “to see [them] say”, when attorneys for both sides question prospective jurors to determine any possible biases the juror might have or any knowledge of the facts or acquaintances to parties to the trial, the judge, or witnesses. At the same time, attorneys get a sense of jurors’ personalities and likely views on the case. Similarly, debates allow voters to assess candidates not just on what they say and their position on issues, but how they say it – their debating styles and their personalities. They get to see how the presidential hopefuls handle the unique pressures of debates in varying settings, led by different moderators in front of an array of audiences. The question then arises as to how much influence do debates have in steering the outcome of the election.

In recent years, and particularly during the first 2012 presidential debate, social sites reached an all-time high as the media most used by the American people through which to voice their opinions. This Huffington Post article below shows how voters took to Twitter during the first presidential debate at an overwhelming rate for the first time in political history.

Historically, debates are not known to hold much weight in influencing the election or even being very memorable. The recent 2012 presidential election, though, between Republican candidate Governor Mitt Romney and the incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama showed different results. Obama and Romney met for the first of three debates on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 and as one article in the October 15th Wall Street Journal read,

Republican challenger’s fortunes in the polls swung significantly after the debate. Mr. Romney seems to have succeeded as Ronald Reagan did in reassuring the public that he was not at all the man depicted by his rival’s attacks.

The advantage that Obama had leading up to the debate disappeared and news coverage shifted in Romney’s favor, mirroring the momentum change reflected in many public opinion polls. The media called Obama’s performance “lackluster” while Romney came out strong, helping him to catch up, and even pass at times, the president in the polls. As one CNN article put it,

Romney’s assertive debate performance in Denver [provided] traditionally Republican voters who questioned his presidential credentials with the validation they needed to support him.

Interestingly, the headline for that article said it best, “It all shows: debates do matter in 2012”. Furthermore it said,

the debates likely did as much or more to shape public perceptions of the two final contenders than the billions of dollars spent on mostly negative advertising…for Romney, the debates presented the last chance to fully introduce himself to a nationwide audience.

Of those voters who reported watching the debate, an overwhelming 72% thought Romney did a better job compared to 20% who thought otherwise.