Week 3: Research Into the History of Political Debates

Welcome to my third weekly update of my project. This week, I spent a majority of my time researching more on presidential debates as well as returning to the scoring and dictionary systems that I will be employing throughout my project.

First, looking at the influence of presidential debates, many debates, especially in the digital age have been proven to have mass impact on younger voters. They serve as a dynamic educational tool, allowing young voters to understand key issues and compare candidates directly. Debates also stimulate critical thinking and civic participation, encouraging dialogue among peers and on social media. A debate in particular that was mentioned by a number of articles and papers on the topic is Bill Clinton’s debate with George H.W. Bush. During his debate, Clinton’s personal touch with audience members, especially the youth, made him a promising candidate to voters. In other words the care pillar of his morality resonated deeply with voters and eventually led to his two terms in office.

Furthermore, Clinton’s performance and its aftermath of his eventual election highlight the role of debates in amplifying the personal qualities of candidates, thereby influencing public perception and voter behavior. Debates offer a unique window into the character and values of those seeking office, aspects that are increasingly recognized as pivotal to effective leadership. In the case of Clinton, his debate with Bush played a key role in shaping his public image as a compassionate, relatable, and capable leader, attributes that contributed to his electoral success and his 8 year tenure as President. Clinton played to his strengths well in debates, highlighting his youth in comparison to the almost 70 year old George H.W. Bush. 

A majority of the research I found on presidential debates highlights the quality that powerful speakers resonate with the feelings of voters. This has also led me to further believe that the pillar of “care” will provide significant trends when it comes to successful presidential candidates. 

Beyond research, I spent time looking at dictionaries previously used for Moral Foundations to get a sense of what dictionary approach I will be using. I also revisited documentation for code regarding the scoring system I will employ as well as playing around with scoring parameters on previous data sets to see how the scores for each of the five Moral Foundations fluctuate.