The Power of the Split Screen

Like all the debates, I watched last night on PBS -- they have the least obnoxious hosts, and don't talk over anything including the conventions. And unlike other networks, they didn't use a split screen last night...which means I didn't see John McCain making faces at what Barack Obama was saying. This morning, everyone was talking about how angry McCain looked, and I could only think of a few bug-eyes or stammers from an otherwise disjointed, scattered McCain.

But this shows me what I largely missed:



Is it fair? No, and I'm sure Obama made some faces too (though largely when I saw him, his reactions were smiling at the nonsense McCain was issuing) but this does explain the reaction.

Interesting, too, that different presentations like this can have such an impact on viewers reactions. (And that the so-called liberal PBS avoided this altogether...though I did appreciate David Brooks saying something like, "John McCain ... would you want to listen to that voice for the next four years?")