How they decide who won the debate

I watched this evening’s presidential debate at our lab. I was joined by several students.

It was hard for me to properly assess the outcome, since at this point I can’t be anything close to objective. I saw what looked to me like one candidate calmly giving detailed and informed answers to questions of policy, while the other candidate seemed to just be reciting the same few slogans over and over. But your mileage may vary.

After the debate had ended, we spent some time discussing it. At some point an undergrad asked me how they decide the winner.

I told him that it was easy: “Fox News will announce the winner. Also, the New York Times will announce the winner. But they won’t announce the same winner.”

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