Thursday night, Paul Ryan and Joe Biden will engage in rhetorical combat. To political junkies and poll-watchers, it seems like there is a lot riding on the outcome of this particular vice presidential debate. Hopes are high among supporters of both tickets, but what kind of impact can we reasonably expect the 2012 VP debate to have on the electorate? …
Thanks to the National Annenberg Election Study, we have some great data from the 2004 cycle that we can use to set some expectations for how the 2012 VP debate will influence the electorate. [cont.]
Joseph Cera, U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee