ABSTRACT
While vice presidential debates are sometimes thought to be more “bare-knuckle” confrontations than presidential debates, Dailey et al.’s (2008) longitudinal politeness research empirically demonstrated that there are few differences in face threats between the two contests; in fact, overall, vice presidential debates are less face-threatening (pp. 37-39). Debate style rather than actual face threats might account for perceptions of greater aggressiveness (Dailey et al., 2008, p. 42). In a similarly soothing conclusion, Benoit and Airne (2005) found that, while vice presidential debaters do attack opponents more than do presidential ones, they still acclaim their own ticket more than they attack the opposition. Instead of convincing voters to challenge or change their prospective votes, vice presidential debates tend to “help voters confi rm their leanings and provide them with a better understanding of why they support a particular candidate” (Carlin & Bicak, 1993, p. 120). They comfort, reassure, and motivate those who already support a ticket.
