Style vs Substance
Reported by Nancy - October 7, 2004 -
"Style versus Substance" seems to be the watchword on FNL this morning (10/7) in their coverage of the second presidential debate scheduled for tomorrow night. Is this an attempt at pre-emptive damage control?
When I tuned in at 10:58am (EDT), James Rosen had just started his report from the Bush campaign. After mentioning the final report on WMDs, Rosen switched to a statement from White House spokesman Scott McClellan about style v substance, then showed a clip of RNC Chair Ed Gillespie's appearance on "Fox & Friends" earlier this morning.
This was followed by a report by Steve Brown from the Kerry campaign. Brown noted that while Bush is "on the stump" today, Kerry is sequestered, prepping for the debate tomorrow night. Brown included a clip of Teresa Heinz Kerry being interviewed yesterday, where she was saying that the most important thing you can do in a campaign is reveal your thought process, show people how you think. Brown also added a statement from Joe Lockhart of the Kerry campaign, which said that the challenge for Bush tomorrow night will be to change tactics, from aggressive stump speeches to "folksy" style.
[Comment: note again how often Bush's name crops up in reports about the Kerry campaign, vs whether Kerry's name is ever mentioned in reports about the Bush campaign.]
Back in the studio, at 11:04am (EDT), Brigitte Quinn interviewed Hal Bruno (former ABC News political director & former presidential debate moderator) about the format for the debate tomorrow night. Bruno had some interesting observations to offer, when Quinn wasn't interrupting him. She asked whether it's hard to prepare for questions on unknown topics, & Bruno pointed out that they know what topics are likely to be raised, it's how those topics will be phrased that is unknown. Quinn used a variation of the "some say" tactic, noting that a "lot of people say" Bush works crowds well, & Bruno agreed that Bush is more comfortable in an informal setting.
After very brief nods to other issues (oil prices, weather) & an ad break, at 11:12am (EDT) Quinn interviewed Bobby Birchfield (GOP) & Tom Downey (Dem) about the upcoming debate. Both had been involved in several previous debates. Quinn let each guest talk without interruption. Birchfield noted that it's important to engage with the audience in the studio, even though the TV audience is much larger, & noted that a major difficulty is "garbled questions", which candidates often find difficult to answer. Downey agreed, & added that it's important to be gracious & accommodating, & to answer the question before the candidate then answers the question he wishes he'd been asked. Quinn ended with a question to Birchfield about "substance vs style", & he responded that style is important because of the empathy factor, but a candidate can't lose the substance.
After some teasers for upcoming stories & an ad break, at 11:20am (EDT), Quinn interviewed Susan Watters & Mark Liebowitz about the "First Ladies". Quinn's questions were designed to portray Teresa Heinz Kerry as a liability to the Kerry campaign, in contrast to Laura Bush being an asset to the Bush campaign. Quinn asked if THK can hurt the campaign, & Liebowitz played right along, answering with a flat "yes". Watters, however, astutely noted that when LB seems to be being nice about THK (e.g., saying they're a lot alike), she seems to be "bridging", but she's really "jabbing" because they're not alike at all. When Quinn asked if LB's appearance on Leno "softens" the Bush campaign & shows that she "stands by her man", Watters commented that this image can certainly help, as when Hillary "stood by" Bill Clinton.
Comment: With all this emphasis on fluff & style vs substance, is FNL admitting that Bush is likely to lose on substance in the debate?
