Annnnd we have our first break, pretty much midway through at 9:51 Eastern. Bummer CNN couldn't bend the rules in regards to debate reactions for PBS considering they obviously don't do commercials.
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First Presidential Debate 2024
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The other networks are running commercials during the break, not injecting politics.
Here locally is KTVK (IND/Phoenix) handling the simulcast with the usual news graphics.
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The format without the mics did keep Trump slightly more restrained than usual. At least this time he wasn't talking over Biden nor was he walking around like a stalker, the way he did with Hillary. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash were fine and kept the debate under control; at one point she admonished both of them to stop acting like children when they got into an argument about their golf games.
Although I'd like to see an old-fashioned, Lincoln-Douglas-style debate, the public's attention span is light-years shorter than in 1858 so what we have is probably the only format that can work. However, the problem last night was not in CNN's coverage but in the candidates themselves. Biden was absolutely off his game except for a few minutes near the end; Trump was the same old, same old. I was tempted at one point to turn it off but I was waiting for that knockout blow which never came (Biden should go back and look at Reagan's debates with Carter and Mondale to see how a putdown said in jest can reap valuable points, Trump is never going to change).
Although I'd like to see an old-fashioned, Lincoln-Douglas-style debate, the public's attention span is light-years shorter than in 1858 so what we have is probably the only format that can work. However, the problem last night was not in CNN's coverage but in the candidates themselves. Biden was absolutely off his game except for a few minutes near the end; Trump was the same old, same old. I was tempted at one point to turn it off but I was waiting for that knockout blow which never came (Biden should go back and look at Reagan's debates with Carter and Mondale to see how a putdown said in jest can reap valuable points, Trump is never going to change).
I don't recall a break for commercials during any debate. And there were two for the candidates, naturally.
I saw one exception to the usual rule. One candidate started complaining and his mike got turned on, and the other responded quickly, and they went back and forth with their mikes on. I thought that wasn't supposed to happen. In any case, that part of it was a real debate, though not a formal one.
I agree. Helped by the "off mike" policy,, the two moderators did very well in my not-so-humble opinion. They were both vilified by the conservative media, as was CNN prior to the debate... with claims that they would ask leading questions, give more opportunity to President Biden than to Trump and so on. Yet the two were professional, and the question list did not favor any party.
There were plenty of border security questions that allowed Trump to pontificate, and there were abortion and rights questions that should have favored the President. Questions were well written and well asked.
I watched the first debate in 1960 where a smooth Kennedy reamed a sweating and nervous Nixon. This was well done, and my compliments to CNN and the two moderators. (Those who know me are aware that such a compliment does not come easily!)
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But, Nixon and Kennedy were actually friends.
Having seen the debate, I thought that format was somewhat lackluster. Hopefully they’ll make improvements by September’s debate.
They were both politicians......significant difference. Both were worthless humans/leaders/presidents.
As for the debate, I still cannot figure out why the Dems agreed to put Biden up against the far more fiery Trump. No way can Biden win a televised comparison. He needs to stay out of sight and just do the work he's been doing. No way should this be a comparison of talent or mores. It seems like the 1930's in pre-war Germany all over again.
I am skeptical of there being a second debate with the same "cast members".
I read my "issue" of the NYT today, and they have a section where all their commentators gave their opinion of the debate; none believed President Biden had won, and most believed he had lost severely. While a couple thought that, in their opinions, Trump's inaccurate statements did not warrant a "win" for him, they were distressed and discouraged by Biden's performance.
If you have access, here it is Opinion | ‘God Help Us’: 12 Writers Rate Biden’s Performance at the First Presidential Debate
Title: ‘God Help Us’: 12 Writers Rate Biden’s Performance at the First Presidential Debate' (and remember, this is the New York Times, not Fox News writing that).
As a moderator, I am very pleased to see that everyone (self included!) is keeping this about the broadcast, the presentation, the moderators and not about partisan politics.
Then again, a lot of commentators thought Nixon won the debate with Kennedy. TV favors people who know how to use TV.
Me too. If I were Biden I would find a way to cancel the "debate".
Your opinion pretty much mirrors that of the Scripps reporters and pundits I've heard so far. One senior Dem insider pretty much already conceded the election.
CNN reports that 47.9 million people watched the debate using 22 different TV outlets:
The viewership was sharply lower than 2020:
www.cbsnews.com
The viewership was sharply lower than 2020:
How ratings for first presidential debate of 2024 compare with past debates
Last night's presidential debate between Biden and Trump marked a drop in TV viewership from 2020 and 2016.
www.cbsnews.com
Helps ABC that they had a one-hour preshow before the debate unlike the other broadcast networks.
I was a 14-year-old junior staffer at the Cleveland, OH, Nixon campaign (which my mother chaired). I don't recall any significant commentator saying that Nixon won. He looked stressed, haggard, and his face was shadowed and sweaty. There were comments that he looked like a criminal in a police lineup.
Television, with hot incandescent lights and shadowy B&W images did not favor Nixon at all.
Kennedy used TV very well. He looked professional to the men and handsome to the women, and his "educated" New England accent sounded "presidential" against Nixon's Southern California flavorless accent.
Here's one example:
Kennedy and Nixon: The "Great Debates" of 1960
The first-ever presidential televised debates took place 56 years ago on Sept. 26, 1960
www.cbsnews.com
And now the New York Times editorial board, which carries some weight in Democratic circles, has officially called on Biden to step aside.
To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race
To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race
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