Partisan viewers may have been cheering for their candidate in the third presidential debate last night, but students glued to the screen in the Annenberg School for Communication watched the proceedings unfold with a different perspective.
These students were prepared for the event by Annenberg Senior Fellow David Eisenhower, grandson of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon.
As director of the Institute for Public Service, Eisenhower emphasized the communication aspects of the debate.
"Here's the question I'm curious about -- how do the candidates appraise the election?" Eisenhower asked prior to the candidates taking the stage. "Are they going to be trying to persuade the persuadables ... or are they going to be talking past each other to mobilize their bases?"
Citing internal polling statistics during the 1968 presidential election in which Nixon defeated then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Eisenhower offered the theory that "the campaign is really a process or ritual through which the electorate goes back to their first impression."
He added that the status of the current election was exactly where it was in mid-March.
"Debate No. 1 was President Bush's opportunity to win this election decisively," Eisenhower said, noting that Bush instead allowed his opponent to lock in extra votes.
Eisenhower expressed a strong belief in the significance of the presidential debates.
"The context is an event which qualifies the hero," he said. "A presidential debate is precisely such an event. ... What matters is how they win and how they lose."
Critical of taking the candidates at face value, he noted that the debates are "a calculated moment."
"We are here watching this debate tonight because they want us here," he said. "We're going to pick up cues from the candidates. Is this campaign entirely from here on now ... to galvanize your supporters? Is this going to be a turnout election?"
"Success and failure is riding on this transaction. ... May the best man win," Eisenhower concluded.
The audience of about 30 students seemed be focused on the communicative aspect after Eisenhower's priming, and many were pleased with the prologue.
And his academic background seemed fitting for the event, according to student organizers.
"He's basically made a career out of analyzing presidential communications," said College senior Ariana Chodosh, Undergraduate Communication Society co-chairwoman.
Annenberg graduate student Paul Falzone, the post-debate discussion moderator, offered his perspective on Eisenhower's speech.
"It was an excellent speech, well-grounded in the rhetoric of the debate ... as well as the historical trajectory," Falzone said. "He has been a first-hand witness to the presidency. ... He's very much in a unique insider's point of view."
Some students wished that the public could have similar pre-debate preparation.
"It's very relevant," College senior Christi Starkweather said. "It's a good way to frame the debate. I wish the public had more of a pre-debate forum, and I'm glad [Eisenhower] was here."
