Presidential debates

Analysis and Comment (8)

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Mitt Romney and Barack Obama face off in the third and final debate on foreign policy. EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

Round three to Obama – now it’s a race to November 6

By Adam Lockyer

In the heavyweight clash of the presidential candidates, round three went to President Barack Obama on points – not by knockout. This means the incumbent won two out of the three match-ups. Interestingly…
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President Obama gave a much improved performance in the second of three presidential debates. EPA/Win McNamee

US presidential debate: Obama gets his game on

By Luke Freedman

The president probably wished he could have taken the shot again after his listless debate performance two weeks ago. There are no do-overs in politics. But then, in the second debate in New York, he…
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Vice President Joe Biden’s nonverbal cues did him no favours. EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

Biden laughs and loses the vice presidential debate

By Jeff Thompson, Griffith University

With more 67 million people watching the first debate between President Barrack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, the pressure was on Vice President Joseph Biden and Representative Paul Ryan to perform well…
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Can Paul Ryan match Mitt Romney’s achievement and score a win in the debate against his Democratic opponent? EPA/Shawn Thew

US vice presidential debate: Ryan and Biden square off

By Luke Freedman

A vice president is usually brought in to complement the president’s vision and policies. However, this year, it was the Republican presidential candidates who had to tailor their own platforms to the…
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Will Mitt Romney’s performance in the first debate boost his previously flagging campagin? EPA/Rick Wilking

Romney’s return: can one debate change the campaign?

By Nick Sharman, University of Melbourne

Mitt Romney’s victory in the first presidential debate has given his campaign a much-needed lift with four weeks remaining until the election. But can the strength of Romney’s debate performance really…
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Mitt Romney, flanked by Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul during a Republican candidates' debate last year, needs a strong performance in this month’s debates against Barack Obama to save his campaign. EPA/CJ Gunther

Presidential debates loom as Romney’s last best hope

By Brendon O'Connor

The US presidential election is almost over before the best part – the presidential debates. With Barack Obama looking almost unbeatable at the beginning of October, Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s…

Research Briefs (1)

Voters take candidates on face value

University of Chicago

In modern politics, a candidate’s image is everything, linguistic anthropologists researching US presidential campaigns have…

Participants (21)