Are television debates really all about appearance over substance?
On the day of the biggest hyped Presidential debate in modern history, it's important to remember that what we've been told about these debates might not actually be true. In particular, that these debates can make or break a candidate simply based on how they appear on TV. I've heard this claim many times in the past -- that it's more important how a candidate looks than what he/she says -- but David Greenberg in his new book Republic of Spin says this just isn't really the case. It is, at many times, exactly what it is -- SPIN. Spinning of the media so that certain things are reported a certain way for the benefit of one particular candidate.
Are you at all surprised?