Debates

The first US Presidential debates were held in 1960, between Nixon and Kennedy, in a race too close to call.  Kennedy was considered to 'win' the debate, resulting in winning the election.

The first British Prime Minister debates were held...yesterday.  At the end of the debate, the two major parties had both gone down in the polls, while the minority third party went up 7%.  The only people who saw that coming were...everybody.  The bookies had all placed the Liberal Democrats as favorite to win.

(I should mention that in the UK, betting is legal, there is a bookmaker on every corner, and people will take a punt at anything, including a white Christmas.)

A month ago I said this election might result in a "hung parliament," meaning no party had a majority and would have to form a coalition with the Lib Dems in order to stay in power.  No place was that more evident than at the debates -- while Gordon Brown (Labour) and David Cameron (Conservatives) beat each other up, they both lavished praise on Nick Clegg, even while he was attacking them!  Since none of them said anything of substance, and since their policies are so similar that I can't tell them apart, the personal interplay was the most interesting (and embarrassing) aspect of the debate.

I should note that the reason there have been no debates previously is that one party always had a clear lead going into the election--and therefore couldn't be bothered.  Even this election, just two months ago, looked like it would be a landslide for the Conservatives.  However, they managed to squander that, and lost a few more points last night.  So as I said, although I don't think it makes a great deal of difference who wins, and I can't vote anyway, it still is an interesting race to watch.