Week 5: Books and Debates

To start off this week, I went to the San Jose State University library in hopes of gaining access to the articles that were previously unavailable to me (required me to pay or log in). Unfortunately, I was not in luck as I still was unable to obtain the articles. At school, I voiced my concerns to my advisor who so kind-heartedly took down the links for the articles and sent them to professors he knew who might be able to download them for me.

In the meantime, my advisor sent me a link to the book he had written titled Why Presidents Win: A Viewer's Guide to the Greatest Show on Earth and instructed me to read the chapter about Clinton as we would begin to watch the 1992 Town hall debate with Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ross Perot. In his book, he elaborated on the popularity of Clinton, on the fact that he was gifted in self-characterization, and on his approval ratings.

Later, my advisor and I finally sat down and began watching the 1992 Town hall debate with Clinton, Bush, and Perot. Because this debate was the first of its kind, the candidates were slightly confused as to what to do with their hands and where to sit in the beginning. In fact, at times while Bush was speaking, both Clinton and Perot were hiding their hands (either in their pockets or behind their backs) indicating that they were feeling weak and insecure. Also when Bush was speaking, Clinton would often look at him from the corner of his eye, smirking, and with his chin held up. This, as my advisor pointed out, was demonstrative of anger or disagreement. Naturally, as this was the first Town hall debate, I noticed that the candidates did not know how to effectively engage with the audience, make direct eye contact, or even ask follow-up questions (even though the audience would ask the questions, Clinton would speak directly to the camera).

Finally, by watching and analyzing even 15 minutes of footage from the debate, I gained insight into the method by which debates are analyzed. For my project, I can potentially focus on the radius of the movements of the candidates (as I need to narrow down what exactly in body language is most practical for me to analyze): whether the distance they move from their stool or how often they pace is significant (as would be demonstrated by post debate polling results). I am excited to continue and finish watching this debate in the coming days.