Last Monday, September 26th, 2016, marked the first presidential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Both parties had much to say about the other, but the national consensus was that Hillary Clinton was the victor. According to an article by Philip Bump (Washington Post), the post debate poll is suggesting Hillary Clinton is in the lead for the popular vote. Bump elaborates on how the national poll is not what matters though: state electors do. As we get closer to November 8th, the recurring question is, “ what does Hillary Clinton have to do to put this election away.” Historically, debates were created in order to allow the two opposing parties to convey their arguments to the US population and …show more content…
The debate was on live television, making it a form of mass media. The broadcast of the debate itself is a linkage institution. Linkage institutions are a means of connects the people to the government or centralized authority. According to NPR, 84 million people viewed the debate, saying it was one of the most watched presidential debates in history. The coverage of these two presidential nominees attract a massive amount of attention because one of them is the soon to be face of the government of America, as Congress contains many faces to cover. The debate was a media event, it was staged, nearly theatrical, by the government and various news companies to connect the American people with the government. Although the American people tend to exhibit selective perception when watching these debates. Selective participation is the phenomenon that viewers only recognize the points that are made that already agree with their personal beliefs. To