I have to admit I only watched the debate for about an hour last night (it was just so damn boring) but while I was watching on CNN i found myself inexplicably following the little graph on the bottom that went up and down as the candidates spoke. This leads me to wonder what effect this little graph might have on people's opinion of who won the debate. If you constantly see it high when Romney speaks and then see it level off when Obama speaks, does it make you think to yourself "Wow Romney must be winning"?
I have always wondered what effect things like these have on voters. I've also wondered if polling ever influences peoples perceptions. For instance if a new poll comes out that says 67% of Americans think Mitt Romney is a dick, does that make people who are otherwise unaware or dont have any thoughts on the issue say "yah he must be a dick"? I guess I am just thinking out loud but does anyone have any thoughts?