Eighty million people have been reported as watching the vice presidential and presidential debates and I wondered what the stress was on the four candidates. Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden must feel increasing stress at this stage of their campaigns. The televised debates must have caused additional stress and strain.



At stake in the debates is the possibility that they might win or lose voter's support. For anyone who has debated, the constant strain is saying something ridiculous. The two elements for debating are content and presentation and one must be expert in both areas.

Sarah, Joe, Barack, and John all have distinctive personal styles. Being coached by public speaking experts to take the rough edges off one's style can be extremely disconcerting and stressful. The pressure of the campaign and the need to develop a credible debating style adds to the stress. What changes must each person make?

Barack Obama has to portray an image of being closely connected with the people. He cannot be seen to be remote and theoretical as they want someone who is warm and understands them. To deal with this tension he promotes a new vision for America revolving around the concept of change.

John McCain is always in danger of being seen as a war hawk because of his position on Iraq and his constant claim about his prisoner of war status. His campaign position is about patriotism and loving America. His age and medical condition are factors that would present him with some stress when seen on the national podium.

Joe Biden knows a huge amount but his pressure comes from being able to present this simply and plainly. There is the question of Joe's persona being too arrogant. Joe has to appeal to the common voter by being down-to-earth and like everyone else.

Sarah Palin has to choose between being folksy and from a small community and being credible on the national and international scene. What makes her appealing is her cute mannerisms, her winking, her 'doggones' and 'aints' but these are also limitations. Her additional stress was to appear informed after some of her disastrous earlier interviews.

The debating stress for these four contenders came from trying to cover up their weaknesses and shine with strength. They had to overcome their personality and content differences to be successful. The real issue is whether they handled the debating stress sufficiently well to attract a popular vote.