Debates a shot at finding that 'defining moment'
By CONNIE CASS?
?By CONNIE CASSFILE - This Sept. 26, 1960 black-and-white file photo shows Republican presidential candidate Vice President Richard M. Nixon wipes his face with a handkerchief during the nationally televised with Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kennedy, in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 26, 1960. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - This Sept. 26, 1960 black-and-white file photo shows Republican presidential candidate Vice President Richard M. Nixon wipes his face with a handkerchief during the nationally televised with Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kennedy, in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 26, 1960. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - In this April 16, 2008 file photo, Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., return from a commercial break during their debate at the National Constitution Center, in Philadelphia. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - This Oct. 28, 1980 black-and-white file photo shows President Jimmy Carter, left, and Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan shake hands after debating in the Cleveland Music Hall in Cleveland. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo/Madeline Drexler, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 15, 1992, file photo President George H.W. Bush looks at his watch during the 1992 presidential campaign debate with other candidates, Independent Ross Perot, top, and Democrat Bill Clinton, not shown, at the University of Richmond, Va. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2000 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, right, and Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush wait for the start of a debate, at Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. In presidential politics, everybody's searching for "the moment." The campaigns don't know when or how it will come, but they watch for something _ awkward words or an embarrassing image _ that can break through and become the defining symbol of the other guy's flaws. Now all eyes are on the series of three presidential debates that starts Wednesday. (AP Photo/David Phillip)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? For presidential candidates, the debates that start next Wednesday carry the risk of creating a memorable moment they'd rather forget.
Campaigns watch for awkward words or an embarrassing image that can become shorthand for the other guy's flaws. This year's three debates are unscripted, live events expected to draw tens of millions of viewers. So they're a perfect incubator for a moment that could newly define President Barack Obama or challenger Mitt Romney.
Tad Devine was an adviser to Al Gore's presidential campaign and remembers how Republicans capitalized on Gore's sighs during one debate. Devine says defining moments are cemented in voters' minds by replays on TV and the Internet and maybe even a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Associated Pressrobin roberts Democratic National Convention 2012 myocardial infarction What Is Labor Day jersey shore Pasquale Rotella Michael Clark Duncan
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.