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I honestly loved the format of all 3 candidates, especially the second one and its town hall format. Watching that debate back to back with any of the other ones, the two candidates sort of makes it stale. One candidate says something, the other responds. With three of them on stage you’re left guessing who will talk next and if they’ll agree or disagree.
I honestly think we could have had any of the three (and we did for two) become president and we’d be okay as a country. Total opposite in the modern era.
I remember just years back before rule 3 where you didn’t have to think about what the president was doing. Now, no matter who gets elected, now I have to think what the president is doing
I remember thinking in 2008 with Obama and McCain and in 2012 with Obama and Romney that whichever candidate the voters chose, the country would be in good hands. I haven’t felt that way in a while.
Absolutely agree. There is no compelling argument I’ve heard for why we still have the EC. The country is too connected and federalized at this point, the President should be elected by the popular vote
Here here! That was hilarious. Whenever I'm down on elections, I think about that debate.
You couldn’t make that up.
I still wrote in Jerry Brown that year,
That line honestly was a perfectly fine introductory statement. The problem was he was old and said it kind of oddly. He didn’t understand why people were laughing because it wasn’t intentionally comedic.
Gonna say a random one but the collection of 1976 debates,with Ford’s gaffes,Carter’s positivity,Ford saying something stupid again,Carter reacting by looking as if he witnessed a war,those debates were just hillarious
Proposal for new rule: On top of debates, all presidential candidates have to give a stand up routine. If you can't make the majority of the crowd laugh, you are disqualified from running for president.
Not gonna be original. Second debate between Reagan and Mondale in 1984, with Reagan "I'm not going to exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience" with even Mondale laughing from it. Not only a great line, but Mondale's reaction showing politics were much less polarised then.
This debate was so influencial that most people forget that Mondale actually won the first debate.
It rare that you can point to the exact moment when a candidate lost, but that was it. The fact that Mondale laughed out loud on camera sealed his fate because the one issue where he could hurt Reagan was his age. There was no way Mondale could hammer the point after laughing it off on national television.
And yes, politics were less polarized. People today would be shocked to know that Reagan drove his agenda through a congress with a Democrat majority. I doubt that happens today, regardless of how popular Reagan was.
Doubling down on the less polarized comment, Reagan and Tip O'Neil's relationship was probably the last mutually symbiotic bipartisan partnership until the great divide.
Its actually kind of disturbing watching them now, seeing two people just sit and debate issues in a civil manner. Knowing how far away we are from that in our current debates in just the manner of a decade is scary.
Totally agree with you Romney was sucking up to the Kochs at the height of their political power he may be the sane centrist senator/governor but he sure didn’t run as one
They hated him because he told the truth. Romney was a corporate raider running in the shadow of the bailouts and the Occupy movement, if he was the GOPs best they might as well have not bothered.
The first Mondale-Reagan debate was my favorite. Mondale cleaned his clock that night.
Before the second debate started, Reagan got off his quip about not using for political purposes "the youth and inexperience of my opponent." You could see Mondale smiling that smile of "oh shit, I'm not going to get past this, am I?" Sure enough, he was okay but not great, and the quip took all the oxygen out of the room.
This is kinda an odd question to me, these aren’t NBA playoff games, they’re political debates…I never really thought about which one would be my “favorite”.
I’d say that the one I find most interesting is the first one of 1960. It’s endlessly fascinating and I find myself watching it the most out of all, but also the candidates just set a good precedent. They aren’t interrupting, yelling, or anything similar. They’re well-spoken and make direct & comprehensive statements on the issues presented to them.
I really, really hate how presidential debates became like a fucking verbal boxing match. People are there for the drama and the arguing and the excitement. People don’t even care about what the they’re actually talking about, it’s an absolute embarrassment.
I think the muting of the microphones when it’s not your turn to speak is loooong overdue. Yeah, yeah, I get it, people want “a fighter” but I, as a voting constituent, also want to hear the entirety of the candidate’s response, within the time limit. If the response is stupid or inappropriate, I’ll be the judge of that. No need to drown them out.
Instead they shout over each other and do the stupid hand raising thing if they don’t end up shouting over the other person.
At one time, candidates didn’t want to be seen as a loudmouth, but now the political appetite for “a fighter” seems to have made that moot.
Thank you.
I remember watching the discussion portion of Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose” series. It was all generally well mannered and respectful, even though the sides passionately disagreed.
I’ve always wished that something like that existed today. Different perspectives with the ability to engage in pointed discussions and not bomb throwing.
I was not alive during the original run of this series, but my college professor showed us 3 of these episodes in our Poli Sci, Philosophy series as an example of "calm discourse with a free exchange of ideas and, more importantly, no ad hominem attacks...a relic, for sure."
‘92 Vp debate is pretty underrated. You have Quayle providing the energy, Gore providing the devastating takedowns, and Stockdale providing the comedy.
In general, I find primary debates much more fun to watch, because everyone is walking the line between wanting to best their primary opponents, but not wanting to burn bridges with people they need on "their side", should they get elected.
All 4 debates between Kennedy and Nixon. Informative, respectful, and with two eloquent speakers who gave their policy proposals and respectably critiqued each others’ policies. A close second goes to 1992 and 1996 though, as Clinton was an utter charisma machine who was so fun to see in action in his prime.
1980 has to stand out. Held just one week before the election, Carter, who had ducked and dodged Reagan throughout the campaign, hoped for a political Hail Mary. One night, one debate and try to show the country how unqualified Reagan was for the presidency.
Instead it turned into an own goal as Reagan mopped the floor with Carter and finished him off with the question that defined the election, “Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” The answer, which was self evident, was delivered in resounding fashion on election day and America’s nightmare was over. 🇺🇸
I’m amazed that the “are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” hadn’t been used to that effect in elections prior- it seems to be a basic political question. If enough people perceive the incumbent to have done a poor enough job or their circumstances have gotten worse (even regardless of blame, as people aren’t always rational about the true causes of misfortune) it seems like something any candidate would say in that situation, so it’s interesting it took until 1980 to be used in that manner.
Gore trying to physically intimidate or throw Bush off by getting in his space was a silly look for him.
Instead of making Gore look like the alpha as planned, Bush’s obvious confidence and laughing at Gore’s move improved Bush’s standing.
I honestly don't like debates. I don't think they really tell us much of anything about the substantive qualifications of the candidates to actually lead and make policy choices. And it's not like the policy or personality differences of the candidates are a secret beforehand. So I generally don't watch them, and definitely won't be watching tonight.
The first one that I watched was in 08, the first time I could vote!
As a non-voter up to that point (I am a born US citizen, but lived abroad until adulthood), I had to make my decision and listen because I had no party affiliation yet.
1984
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and experience.” - Reagan
What made it the best was that Mondale was laughing too.
I only watched the 2008, 2012, 2016 ones. Some of 2020 and some of 2004 (although I don’t remember it well since I was younger).
I’m curious to see how tonight goes. Glad they’re gonna mute people who talk more than they probably should.
It’d break Rule 3, so going to say probably 1 of the Obama-Romney debates. 1st debate was terrifying to watch live because I was afraid Obama had just immolated his reelection funny in hindsight once he got reelected. 2nd and 3rd where he went in swinging and outperformed Romney were cool comebacks.
Agree with many posts already... but adding my favorites. 1992 with Perot, Clinton, Bush. Reagan and Mondale 1984; Mondale did win the first debate but faded away in the second when Reagan was on form. 2012 Romney and Obama for reasons similar to other posts. At the time I may have chuckled at Romney's talk of Russia as a geopolitical threat but thought he did better overall than I expected. Looking back, I think Romney won that first debate (Obama took the next) and that he was perhaps the best candidate for whom I didn't vote over the years. Fav VP: Quayle and Bentsen
I was very pleased to discover that one of the debates from 1960 has survived. But my favorite was the one where a certain person was told to ********. Actually, the one in 1960 was more polite and more gentlemanly. So, I will choose it instead.
Not real life but very close: the SNL skit with Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton and Dana Carvey as George HW Bush and Ross Perot. Still the best presidential debate ever imo.
Theodore Roosevelt was literally shot in the chest mid-speech, then he went on to deliver his speech an hour after being shot.
1912 and it’s not even technically close
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1992 debate with Bush, Perot, and Clinton. Never got better than this one.
I honestly loved the format of all 3 candidates, especially the second one and its town hall format. Watching that debate back to back with any of the other ones, the two candidates sort of makes it stale. One candidate says something, the other responds. With three of them on stage you’re left guessing who will talk next and if they’ll agree or disagree.
I honestly think we could have had any of the three (and we did for two) become president and we’d be okay as a country. Total opposite in the modern era.
I remember just years back before rule 3 where you didn’t have to think about what the president was doing. Now, no matter who gets elected, now I have to think what the president is doing
I remember thinking in 2008 with Obama and McCain and in 2012 with Obama and Romney that whichever candidate the voters chose, the country would be in good hands. I haven’t felt that way in a while.
We need to get rid of the EC so badly
Absolutely agree. There is no compelling argument I’ve heard for why we still have the EC. The country is too connected and federalized at this point, the President should be elected by the popular vote
Switching to Approval voting would be ideal in my opinion
Here here! That was hilarious. Whenever I'm down on elections, I think about that debate. You couldn’t make that up. I still wrote in Jerry Brown that year,
I was a weirdo and like Paul Tsongas. Of course I was only 11
At least not on SNL.
>Never got better than this one. I'm going to break the rules, but I have to mention the VP Debate that year. Who has been better than ADM Stockdale?
Who am I? Why am I here?
That line honestly was a perfectly fine introductory statement. The problem was he was old and said it kind of oddly. He didn’t understand why people were laughing because it wasn’t intentionally comedic.
I agree. It was how he said it. He was 68 at the time, by the way.
Too young now by our current standards
Gonna say a random one but the collection of 1976 debates,with Ford’s gaffes,Carter’s positivity,Ford saying something stupid again,Carter reacting by looking as if he witnessed a war,those debates were just hillarious
https://youtu.be/2JAUqxsH4go?si=dg2mzxmCcHSwW3eB Still the og
Always disappointed The Simpsons never had LBJ in them,imagine LBJ in Springfield
The Simpsons were all-in on the Kennedy caricature, clearly. I agree that an LBJ parody would've been fantastic, though.
Bart would love saying "Jumbo"...
I never thought I'd see simpsons JFK but here I am
Now I want to see The Simps JFK
[удалено]
Rule 3 lurking in the background was incredible.
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Proposal for new rule: On top of debates, all presidential candidates have to give a stand up routine. If you can't make the majority of the crowd laugh, you are disqualified from running for president.
You’d be in jail. 19 year old me was shocked lmao
Would you say the “because you’d be in jail” debate is better than the shouting match in the first debate four years ago?
[удалено]
We have different ideas of ‘entertainment’
VP debate where Lloyd Bentsen smoked Dan Quayle. “You are no Jack Kennedy!” He should have been the nominee over Dukakis.
Sean Hannity said it was an inappropriate comment by Bentsen so you know it was a sick burn.
Honestly, it was the intellectual equivalent of saying "You're a big poopie pants."
I about fell out of my chair laughing.
2016. All three. Those debates need to be studied.
Rule 3 but I agree
The first Kennedy/Nixon
Not gonna be original. Second debate between Reagan and Mondale in 1984, with Reagan "I'm not going to exploit my opponent's youth and inexperience" with even Mondale laughing from it. Not only a great line, but Mondale's reaction showing politics were much less polarised then. This debate was so influencial that most people forget that Mondale actually won the first debate.
It rare that you can point to the exact moment when a candidate lost, but that was it. The fact that Mondale laughed out loud on camera sealed his fate because the one issue where he could hurt Reagan was his age. There was no way Mondale could hammer the point after laughing it off on national television. And yes, politics were less polarized. People today would be shocked to know that Reagan drove his agenda through a congress with a Democrat majority. I doubt that happens today, regardless of how popular Reagan was.
Wasn’t it a supermajority in the House for most cycles prior to Newt in 1994?
Doubling down on the less polarized comment, Reagan and Tip O'Neil's relationship was probably the last mutually symbiotic bipartisan partnership until the great divide.
You’re no Jack Kennedy.
1992 Clinton’s performance at the town hall.
Oh fuck, the first debates tonight?
Yes sir
The last debate as well. They're only doing 1.
The Obama vs Romney debates were the best. It was really the two parties at their most competent and best candidates.
That comment about our foreign policy not being from the 1980s made me laugh, but it must've pissed Putin off.
Technically it was true. China is our biggest adversary, Russia can barely defeat Ukraine
Ehh in 2011-12, I would disagree
Its actually kind of disturbing watching them now, seeing two people just sit and debate issues in a civil manner. Knowing how far away we are from that in our current debates in just the manner of a decade is scary.
Binders full of women!
One party had a decent candidate. The other had Mitt Romney. 🤦♂️
Totally agree with you Romney was sucking up to the Kochs at the height of their political power he may be the sane centrist senator/governor but he sure didn’t run as one
They hated him because he told the truth. Romney was a corporate raider running in the shadow of the bailouts and the Occupy movement, if he was the GOPs best they might as well have not bothered.
The first Mondale-Reagan debate was my favorite. Mondale cleaned his clock that night. Before the second debate started, Reagan got off his quip about not using for political purposes "the youth and inexperience of my opponent." You could see Mondale smiling that smile of "oh shit, I'm not going to get past this, am I?" Sure enough, he was okay but not great, and the quip took all the oxygen out of the room.
1992 because it was the only time 3 candidates got to debate each other
They tried that recently but CNN rigged it
Obama vs Romney 2012. The Last Ordinary Presidental Debate.
This is kinda an odd question to me, these aren’t NBA playoff games, they’re political debates…I never really thought about which one would be my “favorite”. I’d say that the one I find most interesting is the first one of 1960. It’s endlessly fascinating and I find myself watching it the most out of all, but also the candidates just set a good precedent. They aren’t interrupting, yelling, or anything similar. They’re well-spoken and make direct & comprehensive statements on the issues presented to them. I really, really hate how presidential debates became like a fucking verbal boxing match. People are there for the drama and the arguing and the excitement. People don’t even care about what the they’re actually talking about, it’s an absolute embarrassment.
I think the muting of the microphones when it’s not your turn to speak is loooong overdue. Yeah, yeah, I get it, people want “a fighter” but I, as a voting constituent, also want to hear the entirety of the candidate’s response, within the time limit. If the response is stupid or inappropriate, I’ll be the judge of that. No need to drown them out. Instead they shout over each other and do the stupid hand raising thing if they don’t end up shouting over the other person. At one time, candidates didn’t want to be seen as a loudmouth, but now the political appetite for “a fighter” seems to have made that moot.
Thank you. I remember watching the discussion portion of Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose” series. It was all generally well mannered and respectful, even though the sides passionately disagreed. I’ve always wished that something like that existed today. Different perspectives with the ability to engage in pointed discussions and not bomb throwing.
I was not alive during the original run of this series, but my college professor showed us 3 of these episodes in our Poli Sci, Philosophy series as an example of "calm discourse with a free exchange of ideas and, more importantly, no ad hominem attacks...a relic, for sure."
‘92 Vp debate is pretty underrated. You have Quayle providing the energy, Gore providing the devastating takedowns, and Stockdale providing the comedy.
What about the Cheney/Lieberman debate...I saw it about 5 years ago, and thought those candidates were more qualified then their bosses.
In general, I find primary debates much more fun to watch, because everyone is walking the line between wanting to best their primary opponents, but not wanting to burn bridges with people they need on "their side", should they get elected.
All 4 debates between Kennedy and Nixon. Informative, respectful, and with two eloquent speakers who gave their policy proposals and respectably critiqued each others’ policies. A close second goes to 1992 and 1996 though, as Clinton was an utter charisma machine who was so fun to see in action in his prime.
1980 has to stand out. Held just one week before the election, Carter, who had ducked and dodged Reagan throughout the campaign, hoped for a political Hail Mary. One night, one debate and try to show the country how unqualified Reagan was for the presidency. Instead it turned into an own goal as Reagan mopped the floor with Carter and finished him off with the question that defined the election, “Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” The answer, which was self evident, was delivered in resounding fashion on election day and America’s nightmare was over. 🇺🇸
This one, and I also liked Reagan/Anderson 1980.
I’m amazed that the “are you better off than you were 4 years ago?” hadn’t been used to that effect in elections prior- it seems to be a basic political question. If enough people perceive the incumbent to have done a poor enough job or their circumstances have gotten worse (even regardless of blame, as people aren’t always rational about the true causes of misfortune) it seems like something any candidate would say in that situation, so it’s interesting it took until 1980 to be used in that manner.
Agreed. We may hear it again very soon. Stay tuned!
2012 for sue because it was the last debate where it was at least completely coordinated and fair
The one where one candidate told another to shut up. I won’t mention names…
Gore trying to physically intimidate or throw Bush off by getting in his space was a silly look for him. Instead of making Gore look like the alpha as planned, Bush’s obvious confidence and laughing at Gore’s move improved Bush’s standing.
Bush vs Reagan for the 1980 GOP nomination. Shows how functional parties are supposed to work.
Yes, this, if only for "I am **paying** for this microphone, Mr. Green!"
It’s not gonna be this one that’s for sure.
Reagan / Mondale
My two toddler nieces arguing over the best way to untangle yarn.
Holy shit it’s here already
I honestly don't like debates. I don't think they really tell us much of anything about the substantive qualifications of the candidates to actually lead and make policy choices. And it's not like the policy or personality differences of the candidates are a secret beforehand. So I generally don't watch them, and definitely won't be watching tonight.
Spoken like a Coolidge fan. 😂
Lincoln v. Douglas 1859
I recently learned that these debates were for a senate race, and weren’t presidential debates
The first one that I watched was in 08, the first time I could vote! As a non-voter up to that point (I am a born US citizen, but lived abroad until adulthood), I had to make my decision and listen because I had no party affiliation yet.
The debate between Dole and Clinton was interesting, as well as Bush and Gore. JFK and Nixon was also really close
1984 “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and experience.” - Reagan What made it the best was that Mondale was laughing too.
I only watched the 2008, 2012, 2016 ones. Some of 2020 and some of 2004 (although I don’t remember it well since I was younger). I’m curious to see how tonight goes. Glad they’re gonna mute people who talk more than they probably should.
I knew that it would be the biggest political gift they could give him
Reagan/Mondale
“Strategery” “Lock box” Need I say anymore (I wasn’t born yet)?
Strategery was said by Will farell in an snl skit.
(This was a satirical reference)
The 2016 town hall (2nd debate)
The Reagan/Carter debates were good. I also enjoyed the Ford/Carter debates. My favorite has to be Bush/Dukakis though.
Debates tonight? Sir, you must be mistaken.
Bro the rule 3 debate at 9 PM eastern on CNN?
Omg ban this man! 👨🏿⚖️ we’re not supposed to know about this!!!
Reagan/Mondale. but Romney and Obama are up there.
SNL debates have always been the best debates.
It’d break Rule 3, so going to say probably 1 of the Obama-Romney debates. 1st debate was terrifying to watch live because I was afraid Obama had just immolated his reelection funny in hindsight once he got reelected. 2nd and 3rd where he went in swinging and outperformed Romney were cool comebacks.
Agree with many posts already... but adding my favorites. 1992 with Perot, Clinton, Bush. Reagan and Mondale 1984; Mondale did win the first debate but faded away in the second when Reagan was on form. 2012 Romney and Obama for reasons similar to other posts. At the time I may have chuckled at Romney's talk of Russia as a geopolitical threat but thought he did better overall than I expected. Looking back, I think Romney won that first debate (Obama took the next) and that he was perhaps the best candidate for whom I didn't vote over the years. Fav VP: Quayle and Bentsen
Not a presidential debate, but Lincoln-Douglass debates in 1858 are some of the most interesting things I've ever read.
Probably amongst the most important debates related to the future of our country
Admiral Stockdale 1000% loved that guys debate performance!!
Obama vs McCain
The 1960 presidential debate the final one.
2012 Obama v Romney was a great one
Lincoln / Douglas debates.
The 1960 and 1992 debates.
Probably 1984, Reagan had terrible polices but he was very witty
I was very pleased to discover that one of the debates from 1960 has survived. But my favorite was the one where a certain person was told to ********. Actually, the one in 1960 was more polite and more gentlemanly. So, I will choose it instead.
Not real life but very close: the SNL skit with Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton and Dana Carvey as George HW Bush and Ross Perot. Still the best presidential debate ever imo.
Cicero orating at Catiline is up there, but also Stewart and O’Reilly
This one with no contest, if I am allowed to say it. It just decided an election that was on a balancing point.
https://preview.redd.it/w0xpaukro99d1.jpeg?width=1800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20a1eea6f342239178e46a8e3b055ba9676be454
Lincoln v. McClellan
1992 three way all day
Reagan Mondale
Would have loved a Bernie vs (redacted) but no....
Definitely not tonight’s, I can say that for sure before even seeing it
Theodore Roosevelt was literally shot in the chest mid-speech, then he went on to deliver his speech an hour after being shot. 1912 and it’s not even technically close
There were no debates back then. Although TR giving a speech with a bullet lodged in his chest is still crazy.
I know, but technically it was the closest thing that existed to a debate
libertarianism >