Debate Blogs!

First of all, congratulations on a successful first debate.  I know how nerve-wracking it is to be in front of such a large audience, and you all handled the situation with aplomb.  We will do a debrief on Tuesday, so that you will know what to do to prepare for the next debates on foreign policy.  In the meantime, your debate blogs are due by Midnight on Monday.  They should be at least three well-written paragraphs.  The prompts are posted below.

Candidates:

1. How well do you think you did in the debate?  Offer up evidence from the debate to prove your point.
2. What was your strongest point during the debate?  Why?
3. What was your weakest point during the debate?  What will you do differently in our next debate to improve your performance?
4. Who was your strongest opponent, and why?

Puppetmasters:

1. What was your candidate's strongest answer during the debate?  What made it so strong?
2. Analyze some of the best evidence or arguments offered up by other candidates.  For each example, you should address:  What made that example so strong?  What techniques do you want to work on with your candidate based on this example?

Mudslingers:

1. What was your candidates weakest answer during the debate?  What made it weak, and what would they need to do to improve for the next debate?
2. Analyze quotes that other candidates said that were false OR that did not align with their party's actual position.  For each example, you should address: What they said, what the actual fact or position was, and how this compares to your candidate's position.

Spinmeisters:

1. What was the highlight of the debate?  Why?
2. Analyze quotes from the debate that you though were particularly powerful and/or persuasive.  For each quote, you should address:  What they said (give an exact quote, if you can), what rhetorical device or strategy they used, and why the quote was so effective.