After weeks of hype, spin, wild speculation and huge clouds of hot air, two men running for the White House will share the stage for 90 minutes Thursday night in Atlanta.
When they're not staring at death rays or unleashing insults, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who clearly hate each other, discuss issues. Presumably, these will include crime, immigration and the economy, which are the top concerns of many voters.
But if there is a defining moment for either candidate, it's not likely to involve, say, a surprising new stance on abortion or a deep dive on the oil depletion subsidy.
If substance were all that mattered, the night's (ideally) thoughtful and insightful exchanges would largely determine how viewers evaluate the debate and rate the candidates' performances.
But for most viewers, what the two men say will be far less important than how they say it, or any of the nonverbal cues Biden and Trump conveyed during their limited time together on the headquarters soundstage. from CNN.
“Posture, gestures, facial expressions, tone and quality of voice matter more than the words themselves,” said Raymond Zeuschner, a retired professor of oral communications at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, who has written five books on debate. and communication.
(“The Debate Guide,” which he co-wrote, has become a standard text more than 60 years after its publication. It was recently translated into Chinese.)
The rigorous ones insist that it is not a real debate between Biden and Trump. That would require a formally established set of rules and a more specifically tailored format, including the opportunity for one candidate to vigorously question the other.
Zeuschner described the meeting of the two antagonists as “a joint appearance or a joint press conference,” such as those usually held by presidents with a foreign head of state.
But no matter how you describe it, the session will be a rare nationally shared moment in this era of fragmented media and fleeting attention spans.
As such, the debate will serve as an important milestone in a race that polls suggest is dead even with just over five months until Election Day. While it's not likely to be decisive, the showdown could shake up the race after months of little to no change.
The goals of both Biden and Trump are simple: destroy the reputation and credibility of their opponent.
For those watching, the purpose may be edification, entertainment, or both (given how unpopular both candidates are, a certain amount of masochism cannot be ruled out).
The hour-and-a-half meeting, with two commercial breaks, could even help some hesitant or undecided voters make a decision. A second, and presumably final, debate is scheduled for September.
Most of those who tune in will support one candidate or the other. Many will be watching in the hope of reassurance:
There is a small group of voters who may have just begun to pay attention to the race, and for them explaining the issues can provide new and valuable information.
But as Alan Schroeder, a debate expert at Northeastern University, pointed out, “there are other, better places to learn about political positions.”
Thursday night's joint appearance offers a rare opportunity, he said, “to really see the candidates in this awkward, improvised situation that they can't control.”
That's why you'll be on the lookout for those important unscripted moments.
Is Biden positioned behind his lectern or will he take the stage to take his position at the start of the debate? Can he do it without appearing stiff or weakened?
Will the two men shake hands, as courtesy and tradition demand? Will Trump invade Biden's space, the same way he stalked Hillary Clinton?
“Sometimes we forget that there are two human beings up there,” Schroeder said. “The way they respond to each other gives us a sense of who they are as people.”
History recalls some famous quips, including Ronald Reagan's dismissive attack on Jimmy Carter (“There you go again”) and Lloyd Bentsen's brutal takedown of Dan Quayle (“You're not Jack Kennedy”).
But it has often been the unplanned and unspoken moments that have resonated most with voters and helped shape the outcome of an election.
Richard Nixon sweating. George HW Bush takes a look at his wristwatch. Al Gore sighs.
Unless something catastrophic happens Thursday night, a debate held in June (the earliest in history) is unlikely to determine the outcome of an election that will take place in November.
But the 90 minutes in Georgia will shape perceptions of the race and the two candidates and color the coming weeks of conversation about the campaign, at least until the two meet again.
That could go a long way toward determining which of them will be sworn in next January.
