Debates are about image. In an interview for PBS anchorman Jim Lehrer's show on the history of debates, George Bush the Elder says it's ridiculous to judge a leader's overall ability on his performance in a televised argument. He's probably right. What the professional politicians want their candidate to win is the battle of the sound bites, those 15-second quotes that can be easily cut for TV and radio newscasts and newspaper headlines. Voters who didn't bother to watch the debate are often heavily influenced by the coverage in the 24 hours after the debate.
Debates produce great wit.
More clever put-downs are uttered each week on Friends. Voters withhold their decision until seeing the debates. Most voters, the polls tell us, have already made up their minds. The debates won't sway them. Undecided voters have to make up their minds in October - debates or no debates.