"I own a timber company? That's news to me."
Those were the words of George W. Bush during the second presidential debate in response to Sen. John Kerry's attempt to explain the classification between large and small businesses. "The president got $84 from a timber company that he owns, and he's counted as a small business. That's just not right," Kerry said.
The remarks won't likely go down in debate history as one of the most serious gaffes by a candidate -- Bush does own part interest in a limited-liability company organized for the production of trees for commercial sales -- but the brief hiatus from the grind of policy descriptions, issues and attacks created laughter and one of the debate's more memorable moments.
Debates can certainly make or break a presidential candidate. Voters watching debates may become enlightened or irritated from quick one-line remarks, a showing of strength or moral character, candidates who harp on past questions or other emotion-grabbing moments.
One University of Memphis professor cited personality and style as the defining theme for this election's debates.
"I would like to see a much freer give-and-take between the two candidates because much of the debates have been centered on personality," said Harry Mahood, professor of political science.
Kerry recently used the first debate, which some Republicans admit was Bush's loss, as an opportunity to show personality and present a credible challenge to the commander-in-chief.
Junior Wayne Armstead, a sports and leisure studies major, perceived Kerry as the winner.
"Nothing really stood out to me, except I felt like Kerry pretty much had the stronger argument for every issue," he said.
Junior business major David Spratlin remembers the second debate not for the humor, but for the ferocity.
"I thought it was kind of strange how both guys shook hands and patted each other on the back right after all the drama," he said. Debates have changed in format and haven't held candidates accountable for their answers, Mahood said.
"Basically the moderators didn't keep the debates in-line and on-track with respect to answers," Mahood said. "Questions also haven't been all that good."
Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, frequently used part of his time allotment to address the previous statement made by Vice-President Dick Cheney, instead of immediately starting on the moderator's question.
The vice-presidential debates did appeal to Harvey Lomax, a political science professor at the U of M. He felt the discussion was more intellectually stimulating than the Bush-Kerry debates.
"Both were hard-hitting, gave a lot of information toward their argument and both were consistently articulate," Lomax said. "Both performed better than both men at the top of the ticket."
This year's debates feature a "streetlight" system, where candidates have to abide by time restrictions shown by a green, yellow and red light. The debates are guided by a 32-page rulebook, which forbids media networks from showing reaction shots and back shots of the candidates, rules that have been largely ignored.
