Local political experts described Monday’s debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — which was expected to draw more viewers worldwide than any previous debate — as one for the history books.
Political science professors, who were interviewed Monday before the debate, said because this election has been so volatile it is already affecting the way they teach their courses.
“I’m teaching a class on parties and elections right now and I’ve had to redo the entire syllabus,” said David Smailes, an assistant professor of political science at Westfield State University. “I’m rethinking a lot of the curriculum around the things that I teach.”
Much like John F. Kennedy was able to make a better impression than Richard M. Nixon during the nation’s first televised presidential debate on Sept. 26, 1960, Smailes said the first debate between Clinton and Trump could be enough to sway favor to one side or the other.
“It’s a make-or-break event,” Smailes said. “I have a feeling for both of these candidates it’s going to be a pivotal moment.”
Thomas L. Dumm, a professor of political science at Amherst College, said he would not normally place too much importance on one debate. However, he said Monday’s could play more of a role than usual because of the erratic nature of this year’s political season so far.
“Ordinarily, you don’t put too much weight on a single debate,” Dumm said. “But this, by far, is the most unusual year of a presidential election that’s occurred, in my lifetime at least.”
Additionally, Dumm said, because Clinton is a woman she is forced to contend with striking the perfect middle ground between hard and soft, which should make for a more complicated debate.
“It’s a double standard that men don’t have,” Dumm said.
Still, said Michael Hannahan, director of the civic initiative at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute in Hadley, it’s only one debate.
“It’s easy to exaggerate these things — there are a lot of things that are going to happen between now and the election,” he said. “Maybe what the news story will be (Tuesday) is, ‘it was a lot more boring than we thought.’”
Both candidates have a lot to prove, said Donald C. Baumer, a professor of government at Smith College in Northampton.
“The debates in this election, I think, are going to be pretty important in determining the outcome,” he said. “Trump has to show that he’s presidential enough to be credible to an electorate that’s large enough to elect him, and Hillary has to avoid being outmaneuvered by Trump.”
Two more presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 9 and 19.
Because the race is so close, Baumer said, Monday was a big night for democracy.
“People are ready to see them on the same stage at the same time answering the same questions,” he said. “This’ll be an important night for both candidates, and for the public.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.