Apparently, it's popular to publish articles prior to political debates about previous debate blunders. For example here is Yahoo with The 12 Most Cringe-Worthy Debate Moments in History. And here's Washington Post with The 10 most memorable moments in presidential debates.
Neither could pass a chance to take jab at George H.W. Bush for glancing at his watch during a televised debate. Here was a candidate who didn't have the time and patience for all of this, you see. At least that was the narrative that prevailed.
You had to have watched a debate a few years earlier to know why Bush checked his watch. Each candidate typically had a set amount of time in which to answer a question, and GHWB got burned badly in a debate with Michael Dukakis. He had answered a question then gave a good conclusion. Media wonder Diane Sawyer was the questioner, and she looked at Bush and said, you've got a minute left, then just stared at him. So Bush simply made his point again and then brought it to a close with a similar conclusion.
I'm paraphrasing Sawyer, it could have been two or more minutes, I don't remember. But the point is that it was a big mistake on Sawyer's part to disrupt the flow of his speech to such an extent. Saturday Night Live had a field day with it. Sawyer got off Scot free, and Bush paid the price.
Four years later Bush checked his watch during a debate with Clinton to make sure he timed his answer precise enough to satisfy the liberal moderators. And you know the rest of the story. They nailed him for that. There is just no satisfying some people.
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