海角大神

Presidential debates听肠补苍 be interesting and informative. But the language of the debates, and the media/political world鈥檚 reaction to them, leans on a surprisingly small handful of stock expressions and phrases.

With the long-awaited first Republican debate on Thursday, we thought we鈥檇 explain what we鈥檒l almost certainly hear during and after this debate, as well as in future debates.

One maxim for politicians 鈥� especially in debates 鈥� is that you don鈥檛 always answer the question that you were asked; you respond to the one that you want asked. So get ready to hear 鈥淭he question we should be asking鈥�,鈥� in the manner of Democrat John Edwards in 2007, when he was queried about whether he considered Russia a friend or a foe. After a perfunctory nonanswer, on what he wanted to talk about: 鈥淚 think the question we should be asking ourselves is, how does American change the underlying dynamic of what鈥檚 happening in the world? 鈥� I think for that to occur, the world has to see America as a force for good again, which is why I talked about leading an effort to make primary-school education available to 100 million children in the world who don鈥檛 have it.鈥�

This pivot happens so often in debates that there鈥檚 a name for it: the 鈥渃lubhouse turn.鈥� 聽Northeastern University journalism professor Alan Schroeder, author of several books on presidential debates, traces the phrase鈥檚 origin to Michael Sheehan, a debate coach for Bill Clinton and other Democrats. 鈥� 鈥楥lubhouse turn鈥� strikes me as a particularly appropriate metaphor to apply to debates, since this is a genre with other parallels to horse racing,鈥� Schroeder said.

Another debate maxim is to trivialize unwanted topics by seeking to regain the rhetorical high ground. Hence the popularity of the term 鈥�distraction from the real issues.鈥� Lobbyist Jim Manley, a former spokesman for Democratic Sens. Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid, calls it 鈥渁 tried-and-true way to help yourselves get out of the hole and on the offensive.鈥�

Debaters may despise their opponents, but the trick is to avoid seeming petty. That means invoking 鈥渨ith all due respect 鈥︹�� as a preface to leveling criticism, with the perfunctory pretense of appearing fair-minded. It鈥檚 the political version of the Southern phrase 鈥渂less your heart.鈥� As humorist Dave Barry once in his mock language column: 鈥淚t is correctly used to 鈥渟often the blow鈥� when you wish to criticize someone in a diplomatic and nonjudgmental manner, as in: 鈥榃ith all due respect, you are much worse than Hitler,鈥� or 鈥楴o disrespect intended, but you have the intelligence of a macaroon.鈥� 鈥欌��

Debates are mostly remembered for their "zingers," the supposedly spontaneous clever one-liners that can shift momentum toward the candidates who utter them. Former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas is probably best remembered for in the 1988 vice-presidential debate, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e no Jack Kennedy.鈥� In the Internet age, though, it can be difficult to get in a well-executed zinger, as journalists are constantly watching for scripted talking points.

Also a typical part of any debate is the "hypothetical," the common reporters鈥� tactic for trying to get politicians to say something newsworthy. Most politicians, in general, duck legitimate questions by dismissing them as hypothetical. 鈥淭hey even seem to want credit for maintaining high standards by keeping this virus from corrupting the political discussion,鈥� political journalist Michael Kinsley . But in debates, they鈥檙e often inescapable. The last round of GOP gatherings is still noteworthy for the 2011 question that asked candidates whether they would reject that cut $10 from the budget deficit for every $1 in tax increases; every candidate raised their hands.聽

Of course, debate observers will obsess over whether any candidate鈥檚 performance is so momentous that it鈥檚 a "game-changer." That phrase鈥檚 now-common usage irks some academics looking for less simplistic explanations of how elections are decided.

鈥淲hen it鈥檚 used to label events, it鈥檚 used very freely, generally with no empirical basis,鈥� said Bethany Albertson, a University of Texas political scientist who studies political attitudes and persuasion. 鈥淚 guess pundits are incentivized to use the language because it makes whatever happened sound hugely important, but there鈥檚 no check on its use.鈥�

Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark write their "Speaking Politics" blog exclusively for Politics Voices.