2004 First Presidential Debate

Plastic is having an extensive discussion on the first 2004 presidential debate and one of the wittiest post by far is an exchange that goes like this:

tommyp: How is it a debate if only one person answers the questions given to them and the other repeats talking points?

awx: My opponent, tommyp, doesn't even understand what a debate is. How can you expect him to understand Plastic? I do understand plastic, and I've been consistent in my understanding. That what a good poster does. A good poster understands debates. And Plastic.

Pre debate full disclosure. Bush is a chimp, Kerry doesn’t support items on my agenda.

I started listening to the debates on the radio and dashed inside after the first forty-five minutes to catch the rest on TV. Interestingly I’d say it was about even on the radio but once I got inside Kerry’s presence and Bush’s lack of, really came home, anyone else catch that?

Did anyone else note that they seemed to be writing notes with markers? (Much more audible on the radio.)

Also I switch from Fox to PBS about halfway through, and I noticed PBS was playing by the debating rules, which is to say never showing the other candidate when the other was speaking. Contrast this to Fox where they repeatedly showed both candidates. The real interesting thing to me though is the way Fox set the cameras, they both appeared to be the same height. Both of their heads were equally distant from the top of the screen. I wonder if it was deliberate or just stander operating procedure.