Debating the Debates

I have always thought a politician's record was more important than his or her performance in a debate. While some performances are woeful (like Rick Perry in the last Presidential election cycle), that does not mean the less than stellar debater would not shine in office. Barack Hussein Obama is a compelling speaker but an awful President. There is no Winston Churchill, who could dominate the floor by force of intellect, running for the US Presidency. William Buckley was perhaps the greatest debater to ever live. Buckley ran for mayor of New York and badly lost in 1965, even though he could outperform all the other candidates in a debate. How much the debates will really mean, how much they influence votes, is debatable.