Public Affairs Residential College residents who watched the final round of presidential debates Tuesday night didn’t have to tune in to post-debate commentary.
They had their very own political analyst watching along with them.
Scott Deatherage, Northwestern debate team coach and a communication studies lecturer, accompanied students during the third debate between candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush, which aired at 8 p.m. on ABC.
“I think it’s great when you have someone so passionate about political issues conveying that to students,” said Zachary Cook, a fifth-year political science graduate student, who is the assistant master at PARC. “It is important to get people thinking as much as possible from all these different angles.”
Deatherage commented on the candidates’ statements throughout the debate, and stuck around for more than 90 minutes afterward to analyze what was said and hear student opinions.
Those opinions may have leaned to the left: Of the approximately 25 students attending, only a few said they were Republicans.
It was the first time PARC residents had a speaker to watch the debates with, said Cook, who planned the program.
Cook said he was most impressed with Deatherage’s memory of the debate during the following discussion.
“It’s like watching (the debate) rewind in his mind and then play forward again minute-by-minute,” he said.
Deatherage, who said he is a Democrat by trade, asked students to look at the debate from a more objective angle, instead discussing how Gore and Bush handled specific questions and issues in relation to debate technique.
“This was easily the best of the three debates,” Deatherage said, adding that the outcome of the debate was pretty close.
A snap poll that aired shortly after on ABC showed that 41 percent of viewers said Gore won, 41 percent said Bush won and 14 percent said the candidates tied. Deatherage said the snap poll was not terribly reliable and that viewers typically need at least three days to make a sound assessment.
PARC residents said they found certain segments of the debate particularly interesting, especially the part when the candidates discussed affirmative action. After each candidate challenged the other’s policies, Bush eventually asked debate facilitator Jim Lehrer to change the subject.
“Bush looked bad when he asked Lehrer to change the subject,” said Deatherage, who said the scene had the potential to make historical cut tapes. “The affirmative action question will hurt Bush later.”
He said Bush’s strongest point was his emphasis on bipartisan leadership, citing his use of the phrase: “I’m a uniter, not a divider.” Gore came out ahead on tax issues and healthcare, Deatherage said.
The candidates also debated education, Mideast policy, the role of the military, gun safety, the death penalty and morality issues.
“The choice of questions favored Gore,” Cook said.
The debate, which aired live from Washington University in St. Louis, featured an audience made up of private citizens who asked the candidates questions in a “town hall” format.
“I liked the format of this debate much better,” said Weinberg freshman Anya Drabkin. “It was more informal. You got to see what the candidates are actually like, and people were asking questions in their own words.”
