ABSTRACT
While there is widespread agreement that something went wrong, and considerable speculation about why, there has been little focus on just what went wrong. It is that question that I wish to address. Reading the debate, it seems closer than one recalls (Alter, 2013, p. 325); one can parse the transcripts and fi nd elements of winning arguments. But that exercise would require a far more charitable critic than anyone has a right to expect. If one instead asked the question posed by debate judges, “Who did the better debating?,” the polls are correct in reporting a Romney victory. That suggests that Obama’s weakness may relate to debate skills and strategy.
