How to watch the debate: Take notes, turn off, tune in

Oct. 2, 2012

The long-awaited first debate between President Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney is almost upon us, meaning voters will get to hear the two men exchange ideas, trade observations and sling “zingers” before reaching their own decisions about who to support in the voting booth, right?

Not so fast.

If you think Punditty is full of it, you’re right, but his relatively mild punditifications are nothing compared to the spin doctors, wonks and talking heads who will be descending on the networks after the Denver debate is over.

Depending on whether you’re watching Fox, MSNBC or something in between, what the talking heads say right after the debate may very well influence your perceptions. So why not listen to yourself instead?

Here’s an idea: Take notes, turn off and tune in. You might have a better chance of discerning your own perceptions if you aren’t immediately bombarded by fast-talking pundits trying to make up your mind for you.

1. Take notes before the debate starts. Write down things you want to notice, such as the body language of each candidate or who looks more confident at the podium. What questions to you expect debate host Jim Lehrer to cover in this economy- and domestic-themed debate?
2. Watch as little of the pre-debate hype as possible. That’s a tall order for the political junkies among us, but it can help make your debate experience your own, keeping it untainted by the expectations of highly paid pundits.
3. Take notes during the debate. Write about what strikes you as a “score” for each candidate, as you would if you were a judge at a boxing match or an Olympic event.
4. Snack as needed.
5. When the debate is over, turn off the TV for a few minutes and collect your thoughts without engaging in conversation with anyone else. If you’re watching the debate with friends or family, agree on how long this quiet period will be before the debate starts. During this time, be it 10, 20 or even 30 minutes, tune in to your own thoughts and take notes about what comes to mind.

Once you feel like you’ve written down the most important points about the debate, you can choose to re-engage with the nonstop punditry on television or just take a break from it all until the morning papers (how quaint!) are available. At that point, you can match your thoughts on the debate with the wisdom of the punditocracy. Chances are you might find an original thought or two in your notes.

The networks and the surrogates for the candidates may not like this approach, but if you want to see where your mind goes before the “opinion-makers” try to steer it, you might find you like politics better without all the emphatic persuaders telling you what you've just seen and why you're wrong if you thought you saw something else.

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