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The Conversation USA

How to make presidential debates serve voters, not candidates

  • Written by John P. Koch, Senior Lecturer and Director of Debate, Vanderbilt University
Voters could know more about how each of these men think.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Presidential debates are not debates at all. They provide candidates with opportunities to deliver their own pre-scripted messages, largely unchallenged.

Ideally, presidential debate scholars agree, these events should help voters identify which candidate they agree...

Read more: How to make presidential debates serve voters, not candidates

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