Who won the debate?

[Jim Burnham]

My impression is that the debate did nothing other than reinforce the predisposition each viewer had going in.

Does anyone think it was pivotal enough to change anyone's mind?

Emblematic of politics today in general, I surmise we each heard exactly what we wanted to hear. I also get the impression the number of people truly on the fence is a very small slice.

That could very well be right, and I could also see the increasing use of early voting minimizing the impact of debates. How many votes have already been cast, and these before the debate last night? I have seen estimates ranging from 25% to as much as 33% having already voted.

[vnatale]

My impression is that the debate did nothing other than reinforce the predisposition each viewer had going in.

Does anyone think it was pivotal enough to change anyone's mind?

Emblematic of politics today in general, I surmise we each heard exactly what we wanted to hear. I also get the impression the number of people truly on the fence is a very small slice.

That could very well be right, and I could also see the increasing use of early voting minimizing the impact of debates. How many votes have already been cast, and these before the debate last night? I have seen estimates ranging from 25% to as much as 33% having already voted.

I did hear today that this debate took place 12 days before the election while four years ago last one was 31 days before the election. And, there has been a dramatic increase in votes cast prior to the last debate this time around than last time around.

Vinny

[vnatale]

My impression is that the debate did nothing other than reinforce the predisposition each viewer had going in.

Does anyone think it was pivotal enough to change anyone's mind?

Emblematic of politics today in general, I surmise we each heard exactly what we wanted to hear. I also get the impression the number of people truly on the fence is a very small slice.

I'm sure Vinny will consider this valid, since it happened on CSPAN!
https://100percentfedup.com/undecided-v ... te-answer/

It IS valid! I heard it today!

Vinny

[Tortoise]

Do undecided voters tend to vote earlier or later? I’m guessing later, but I don’t really know.

[Libertarian666]

Do undecided voters tend to vote earlier or later? I’m guessing later, but I don’t really know.

I think it should be obvious that it must be later.
Why would someone who doesn't know whom to vote for, bother to vote early?

[Tortoise]

Do undecided voters tend to vote earlier or later? I’m guessing later, but I don’t really know.

I think it should be obvious that it must be later.
Why would someone who doesn't know whom to vote for, bother to vote early?

Thanks, that’s what I thought.

So the suggestion in this thread that early voting may be minimizing the impact of the debates doesn’t seem likely. The debates are targeted especially at undecided voters, most of whom probably vote later rather than sooner.

A corollary is that anything that happens between now and November 3rd could potentially sway a lot of undecided voters and therefore the election result in the battleground states.

[WiseOne]

I would say that both candidates lost. They are both terrible debaters.

Neither of them used facts or solid evidence to back up their positions. For example, Biden kept stating that lockdowns were the sole correct national response to increasing cases in any given region. He also implied that Trump should have locked down the country back in January or February and kept it locked down since them. He cited no evidence to support this assertion, and effectively dismissed the costs of lockdowns (including to human health) as a minor inconvenience. Trump could have mopped the floor with him at this point by citing the Sweden example, the WHO statement against lockdowns, the well documented economic, social, and health impacts of lockdowns etc. Instead he meandered off into talking about how young people don't get that sick and how his own case wasn't so bad.

I kinda lost interest in the debate after that. The vote won't come down to which of these idiots belongs in office. It goes in Trump's favor because he gets the right answer for the wrong reasons consistently. Biden on the other hand will always get the wrong answer. What's it's really about though is a choice between two ideologies: one emphasizing personal freedom/responsibility and let capitalism do its thing, the other emphasizing a heavy hand on the state control button. I know which one I prefer, so that's that.