The first of three presidential debates gave Americans plenty to talk about. The New York Times was not impressed, calling the 90-minute debate :
an unenlightening recitation of tired talking points and mendacity.
Will the debate, in which President Obama’s performance was widely criticized as lackluster and Gov. Romney’s as factually deficient, actually have an impact on the outcome of the 2012 election?
Past perfromance says few single debates ever alter the course of a presidential race.
But both men have time to brush up on their history and learn from some of the dos and don’ts in my article “Eight Lessons for the presidential debates,” which appeared in Smithsonian.com
