After the first presidential debate, some people complained voters and experts often award candidates points for style instead of substance. Well, duh!
I try to keep up with important issues as best as possible. But I couldn’t keep track of all the details or supposed details Obama and Romney exchanged. Am I expected to fully understand Frank-Dodd and realize how the campaigns offer different definitions of a small business? I’m not Encyclopedia Brown.
Mix in voters scrambling to fit in meetings and family time into a 24-hour day and you can’t expect many Americans to always know when a candidate is twisting the facts.
In an ideal world, reading would be everyone’s favorite pastime, people would check out full stories instead of simply headlines and water fountains would also offer chocolate milk.
We may not like it, but style, good looks and how you deliver your words play a key role in success. That’s why some scholars wonder if Abe Lincoln, in today’s world, could get himself elected.
So don’t feel disappointed when the other candidate comes out swinging and treats the debate moderator like a college intern who can be ignored. If substance mattered more, more TV reporters would be ugly, more people on Twitter would compliment broadcast journalists on their stories rather than their shoes and sound bites would be a whole lot longer.
Yes, in the end, substance matters most. So if you want candidates who support the views important to your everyday lives, ensure those politicians wrap their details in style. Because what you consider to be rude and testy might be viewed as passion by others.