PopSci Q&A: How Much Do Presidential Debates Matter?
Obama-Romney Debate YouTube/New York TimesAnd what do voters really care about? The authors of "Democracy Despite Itself: Why a System That Shouldn't Work At All Works So Well" weigh in. With one presidential debate down and the second gearing up for tonight, we've been wondering: Do debates actually matter in an election, and if so, which aspects do voters care about? We've explored some of the influences technology has on our impressions of a debate--"Is HDTV going to sway your opinion?". Here, we email with Danny Oppenheimer, associate professor of psychology and public policy at Princeton University, and Mike Edwards, founder and contributor to Leftfielder.org, on the issues, both big and small, that determine how we perceive a debate--and whether they have any impact on how we vote. The pair authored the recent book "Democracy Despite Itself: Why a System That Shouldn't Work At All Works So Well" (MIT...