When Trump won the Republican nomination I had a hard time understanding why as I personally felt that his debate performance was mediocre. Regarding the current Democrat primary can anyone really say that Biden’s debate performance was better than the rest of the candidates?
This has persuaded me to conclude that more often than not the debates in the end are not that important to most voters. Am I wrong?
Debates are a way for candidates with that particular skill to show off, and those who don’t to flounder.
I think their relevance is greatly overstated. At this point, it’s just continuous free airtime for whichever candidate can steal focus. It’s a stage for the spectacle, playing to their individual audiences.
I definitely acknowledge that one cannot be a complete flop. But would you acknowledge that Biden did not in any way outshine all the other Dem candidates?
Personally I think it is a misnomer to call them debates particularly when there is a plethora of candidates. In my opinion what they potentially can do is cause the downfall of a candidate who performs badly (e.g. Bloomberg) but they have very little real impact positively on a candidate who performs well.
I didn’t watch them, but I know he did very poorly. Still, I don’t think it had much to do with his demise. He’s a recent former Republican, an authoritarian, and was trying to buy the nomination. That’s what Democrats rejected, not his debate skills.