Viewpoint: Presidential debates too sensationalized

The stage is set at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., for the third and final presidential debate, which will focus on foreign policy.

Tonight, President Obama and Mitt Romney will meet at Lynn University to go head-to-head in the third and final presidential debate, which will focus exclusively on foreign policy.

Thus far, the presidential debates have generated discourse about factors that relate more to the politicians’ observable behaviors than to the content of their speeches. In addition, snippets of the debaters’ comments have been taken out of context primarily for their comedic effect, as opposed to their political value.

Obama received criticism for looking down too much during the first debate, which made him appear “meek” and “under-prepared,” according to an op-ed in CNN. Van Jones, a former adviser to Obama, credited Romney’s perceived victory with his ability to “out 'Obama' Obama on the connection piece, on the authenticity piece, on being able to tell the story.”

Debate sensationalism is also evident in the fact that, with Halloween approaching, Big Bird costumes are flying off of the shelves. As USA TODAY reported, this is primarily a result of Romney’s infamous reference to the Sesame Street character when he mentioned plans to cut funding to PBS.

The second debate was labeled as the “interruption debate” by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, according to USA TODAY. The 90-minute debate averaged 1.4 interruptions per minute, with a total of 122 interruptions between Obama, Romney and moderator Candy Crowley. Out of these, Obama cut off Romney 36 times, compared to the 28 times that Romney cut off Obama. The remainders came from Crowley, who disrupted Romney and Obama 23 and 15 times, respectively.

Romney’s “binders full of women” comment in the second debate generated a large response from social media outlets, resulting in satirical Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook accounts devoted to the literal imagery of his phrasing. The semantics of Romney’s statement detracted from his overall message, which pertained to his search for qualified women to add to his cabinet as governor of Massachusetts.

Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post recently critiqued the current format of the presidential debates, arguing that not allowing the candidates to refer to notes feeds the entertainment factor by creating tension while failing to serve a valid purpose. Huffington also presents the idea that the debates would be less of a commodity if they were not broadcasted through the medium of television, as this focuses too much attention on the speakers’ appearances.

Alex Sarabia, an economics major at Boston College, has helped to organize BC’s Rock the Vote campaign as the director of political action and education with the Undergraduate Government. As a member of this campaign, Sarabia has been involved in the organization of debate-watching parties on campus for Republican, Democratic and independent voters alike.

“Americans ages 18 through 29 currently make up almost one-forth of the entire electorate with the potential to be a powerful voting block,” he said. “Only one problem: Voter-turnout rate among youth is approximately 50%.”

For Sarabia, tuning into the debates could be a step in the right direction for potential new voters.

“Presidential debates present an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates about their platforms and discover why it is important for students to have a voice in our future,” he said. “Both candidates have records of leadership that can be examined, and as Americans, we have a duty to research, evaluate and make judgment on who can best lead this country forward.”

Part of that duty involves staying focused on the messages relayed by the two candidates, instead of getting caught up in the sensationalized nature of the event.

“When watching the presidential debates, it is important to keep in mind that the devil is in the details,” Sarabia said. “While rhetoric is impressive and noteworthy, specific plans are necessary to create tangible change.”

Jenna LaConte is a Fall 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.