The presidential debate myth: not the 'game-changer' you might think

Apart from this meme-tastic image, do you remember anything else from the 2008 presidential debates? Photograph: Reuters

The Romney team talks up how the televised debates can turn his campaign around. The odd zinger aside, history suggests not.

Michael Cohen
guardian.co.uk

Quick: name the most memorable moment from the three presidential debates between Barack Obama and John McCain?

Nothing coming to mind? (And no, Sarah Palin saying "you betcha" in the vice-presidential debate doesn't count.)

How about the 2004 debates between John Kerry and George W Bush? Well, there was that line about a "global test" and then that great internet rumor that Bush had a radio receiver on his back. But anything else ring a bell?

This isn't just a memory test for Guardian readers – it's a perhaps less-than-subtle reminder that even though presidential debates are often viewed as the most important part of a campaign (aside from the national conventions), they actually affect the final election results a lot less than you might think. If Mitt Romney is hoping that the debates turn the tide in what is an ever-widening polling gap between him and Barack Obama, he might want to think again.

(More here.)