A Taste for Reality TV Seen in Popularity of Presidential Debates

More than in previous years, the televised presidential debates have exerted outsize influence on the tone and direction of the campaign, with each one seeming to have more influence over the course of the contest than the last one. Why? There are some expected answers: People are worried in these tough economic times; new technology, like Twitter, draws people into the shows; there is nothing else on television. But there are also cultural explanations. Steve Schmidt, who helped run Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008, said the debates have grown in importance as Americans have become attached to reality television shows.