Quote:
Originally Posted by Kokukirin
Most people predict Obama to perform better than Romney in debates because the president is a renowned speaker, but this expectation probably helps Romney in the end. As long as he can hold his ground, avoid major mistakes, and make himself a better known person, Romney can consider the debate a success and probably make gains in polls. On the other hand, even if Obama "wins" the debate, that is merely what people expect to happen.
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The content of the debates matter less than presentation during the debates. George W., Ronald Reagan, JFK, etc all had bad debates, but they
looked like a proper candidate and they
seemed presidential. They could connect with an audience even if their message was often muddled or simply not there.
Mitt Romney's greatest challenge isn't giving good substantive answers (he has come close to doing so in the Republican debates), rather it is his complete inability to actually connect with anyone (one of ganbaru's articles linked above discusses this issue). (John McCain faced a similar problem in 2008...which led to him choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate (which I am thankful for, since it ruined her political career before it even started).)