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West Wing Debate Score Card

1) Firing Up And Reaching Out: Candidates face a twin task in debates - The candidate has to charge up his base, charge up the partisans, so that the next week, the next month they're still talking about the great job their candidate did. At the same time the candidate has to say things that appeal to people who aren't swayed by partisanship. But that's hard to do, so…

Give 5 points to a candidate if he speaks to the undecided, 5 points if he pumps up the partisans and a bonus point if he does both.

2) Just The Facts: In the first debate of 2000, Al Gore said that in 1998 he had "accompanied (FEMA director) James Lee Witt down to Texas when those fires broke out." Only he hadn't. Gore isn't the only one who's goofed on the debate stage. In 1976, President Ford famously, and erroneously, claimed there was "no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."

Indeed, mistakes happen in debates, and they can be costly. "I think that most people get a larger impression of the debates, but the press fixates on the mistakes, so if a mistake is made in the debate that becomes a big part of the press coverage," Alan Schroeder, a Northeastern University journalism professor and author of the book "Presidential Debates," said. "Sometimes that has the potential to sway opinions."

Deduct 1 point for each mistake.
3) Mr. Nice Guy: Attitude can be everything in a debate. Schroeder said a candidate must "take command. That means going on the offense rather than the defense because then you can push the subjects that you want to push and make the other guy react to you."

Another key, says Schroeder, is to "try to make an emotional connection to the audience, so that it isn't just about your policy positions, it's about who you are as a human being." In addition, "I think good debaters are relaxed and want to be there," says Schroeder. Voters like someone who "seems like he is in his element" rather than one who "wishes he is somewhere else." A case in point: President Bush's father made a terrible impression when he checked his watch during the second debate in 1992.

Attitude can be important not only to who wins the debate, but to long-term impressions of the candidates. In 2000, Sabato says, "Gore just turned people off with the sighing, the invading Bush's space." "It wasn't so much that Bush did beautifully," he said. "Bush did all right. Gore just blew it."

If either candidate "blows it" on attitude, take away 2 points. Add 2 points if, instead, they make you want to be their friend.

4) The Big Line: From Ronald Reagan's "There you go, again" in 1980 to Lloyd Bentsen's "You are no Jack Kennedy," a good zinger can be the most memorable part of a debate.

"They both have these lines they go in with that they will try to work into the debate," says Schroeder, including jokes, barbs for their opponent and memorable phrases. "They go in with a lot of ammo in the way of scripted remarks. The question is, do you have a chance to use your ammo and can you make it seem natural?" Schroeder adds.

Give 1 point to each candidate who drops a good one-liner.
5) Looks Are (Almost) Everything: Style is at least as important as substance in the debates; candidates have to "look presidential," or at least not really bad. This is why the debate rules agreed to by the campaigns require the debate commission to inform both camps at least three days in advance what color the backdrop will be, and to have the set completed and lit by the day before the debate. The rules also specify that, "each candidate may use his own makeup person."

Makeup is widely considered to have made a major difference in 1960, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy faced off in the first televised debates. People who listened to the debate on radio deemed Nixon, a skilled debater, the winner. But Kennedy won on television, perhaps because he was tanned and had used makeup, while Nixon had just emerged from the hospital and declined any face paint.

Give a candidate 1 point if he looks marvelous.
6) The Main Idea: Amid all the posturing and image making, a debate is ultimately about ideas. And the closing statement allows candidates to frame the voters' choice. Plus, since many voters tune out of the campaign as soon as the debate ends, it could be a candidate's last chance to make an impression. Reagan's closing line in the 1980 debate – "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" – is the best example of how to make a simple, critical idea stick. Most voters evidently thought the answer was no, and Reagan triumphed.

If a candidate closes strong, give him 3 points.
7) The Expectations Test: As soon as the microphones are off, media commentators will begin talking about how the candidates did – not just versus each other, but against the expectations each faced. Did the Vinick mangle his words? Was Santos rambling and wooden? According to Schroeder, the "expectations game" developed in the late 1980s.

It occurred, he said, "because debates are hard to score, because so much of the way you respond is subjective." "Reporters are always looking some less subjective measure to judge by," he said. The expectations game seems to provide that. But Sabato notes that while the media spin matters it also "goes in different directions."

If a candidate exceeds your expectations, give him 1 point.

MATTHEW SANTOS – DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
Matthew V. Santos was born in St. Joseph's Hospital in Texas. One of seven children born to Luis and Marita Santos, Matt grew up in the Second Ward – the oldest Mexican-American neighborhood in Houston and home to six generations of the Santos family. Surrounded by his extended family, Matt was taught the value of kinship, of responsibility and service, and of the Catholic faith – lessons he carries with him every day.
From the time he was able to add and subtract, Matt worked at his uncle's small hardware shop in the East End. It was a family business, and Matt fully expected to work there after graduation. But as he was entering his senior year at Austin High School, Matt met Sergeant Rick Alvarez, a Marine recruiter who was a permanent fixture on the local basketball court.
The Marines seemed like a good option for Matt, and his recruiter encouraged him to aim higher than regular enlistment. He applied for admission to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. To secure a nomination for the Academy, Matt visited the Houston office of his 18th District Congressman. He immediately took an interest in the politics, federal and local, that shaped his community. He knew, at that point, that he had found his calling.
After four years in the Academy, he graduated as a Marine Second Lieutenant, with a degree in engineering. He served his country as a fighter pilot in the Gulf, and then joined the Marine Reserves, where he has continued drilling and training for the last thirteen years. But Matt could not ignore the enticement of the political world he had glimpsed years before. He returned to Houston, where he quickly immersed himself in community service. Elected to City Council, Matt focused on revitalization projects for the Second Ward, where his extended family still lived. He founded a neighborhood watch program, and oversaw the rebuilding of several recreational facilities.
Two years later, Matthew Santos was elected mayor of Houston – the first Hispanic mayor the city had seen. Under his guidance, the city opened four new health clinics to serve Houston's families and created a new housing assistance program to make rent and bills more affordable for the city's two million residents.
After four years at the helm of Houston, Matt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and has won reelection twice since. He is currently serving his third term.
When he entered the House of Representatives six years ago, Matt Santos wanted to improve the daily lives of his 18th district constituents, and the lives of all Americans who, like him, needed some encouragement to succeed. During his tenure, he has helped provide more education grants to low-income college students, and health insurance for millions of children. On the Ways and Means Committee, he has led the movement for temporary assistance for needy families, and worked diligently on job creation and worker assistance for hardworking Americans.
Matt has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man in Houston – lessons in faith and perseverance that have fortified him through his political and lifelong journey. He seeks to serve the American people as he has served his family, his country, Houston and the 18th District of Texas.
Matthew Santos is married to Helen Santos, and together, they have two children, Peter and Miranda.

ARNOLD VINICK – REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
Arnold Vinick was born in New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn. His father, Richard, was a public school teacher in the New York City School District. His mother, Patricia, was a community activist and a devoted parent. After the birth of his younger brother four years later, Arnold’s life took a dramatic turn. His father relocated the family to southern California, to farm orange groves in a small town called Santa Paula, California.
Richard and Patricia wanted their boys to grow up outside the pressures and politics of a sprawling urban scene. In Santa Paula, Arnold learned the value of hard work and responsibility, laboring during the summers alongside his friends in the citrus groves. He volunteered at the public library, entrenching himself in the history of his home state. In these formative years, Arnold gained an appreciation for family and community, which he carries with him to this day.
After graduating from Yale and Stanford Law School, Arnold returned to Santa Paula to open a law practice for the community. Local townspeople had more in mind for their native son, however. Arnold was elected City Councilmember in the town’s first write-in victory. He served one term on City Council, overseeing numerous community projects, including the refurbishment of the California Oil Museum where he’d spent many afternoons as a teenager. Shortly thereafter, Vinick sought and won a seat in the California State Assembly. Throughout Ventura County, Arnold Vinick was quickly known as a forceful advocate for families, farmers, the environment, and his State of California.
When Arnold was elected to the United States Senate twenty-four years ago, he won with 6.9 million votes – the highest total for any Senate candidate at the time.
Skilled as a local politician, Arnold still applies his sense of humanitarian responsibility and his community values to the national arena. In his four terms, Arnold has fought to protect the rights of patients and to promote affordable healthcare for all Americans. He has worked to preserve the safety and stability of retiring Americans through social security and pension protection acts. He has continually supported agricultural programs, such as his "Freedom to Farm" initiative to protect the rights of small farmers against bureaucratic subsidies.
Senator Vinick currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, and serves on the Committees on Foreign Relations, and Environment and Public Works.
Arnold Vinick was married for thirty-four years to Catherine Vinick, who passed away three years ago. He has four children and nine grandchildren.