Perceptions of political debates are notoriously subjective. After every Bush v. Kerry debate, many spinmeisters were all-too-ready to declare a “homerun” for both candidates. That’s where the communications research company HDC Research is helpful. Viewers can see people’s reactions as they happened throughout the debate with the website MediaCurves.com. The company’s latest survey had 454 people watch Tuesday’s Democratic debate and rate whether they agreed or disagreed with Clinton and Obama. You can watch the video: here.
The rift between independent and partisan men was one of the most striking aspects of the survey. When Obama spoke, the male independents agreed with what they saw more than any other group, while male Democrats agreed least. When Clinton spoke, the results crossed: Male independents agreed the least of any group, while male Democrats agreed the most.
The one thing that everyone seemed to agree on was that Clinton’s claims of media bias were not exactly agreeable.
