How to Win the TV Debate (Michael Cockerell documentary)

Another long-lost Michael Cockerell documentary that I've somehow managed to dig out of the dark depths of the internet; originally aired in 2010 just prior to the David Cameron-Gordon Brown-Nick Clegg leaders' TV debate. I doubt anybody has seen this in years.
"With Britain's first-ever political leaders' television debate imminent, Michael Cockerell hears from US Presidents and their advisers about what it is like to take part.".
The video file was slightly corrupted and ~3% of its data was lost, alas the video jumps a few seconds forward occasionally. Sorry about that.

[@georgesotiriou7051]

Phenomenal find. I'm a Cockerell fanatic so this is quite a treat.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Is he doing any anymore?

[@maxheadrom3088]

@@johnnotrealname8168 He's 83 now. He's probably still doing them - or at least I hope so - but perhaps slower.

[@rogerpenroset.blaine4233]

Wow! Great documentary, needs more views

[@maxheadrom3088]

I did a semester of High School in the US and had the luck to attend an Aadvanced Program American History class with a great teacher a great students. When we were learning about the dabate, one of the students asked her mother and her mother, who had listened to debate on radio, considered Nixon the winner. Her opinion was shared by most peoiple who heard it on the radio while most people who watched it on the TV considered Kennedy the winner.

[@kaseyarmstrong9371]

Love or hate Thatcher, she took strips of Kinnock every PMQs. So for him to think this would have been a good thing for him is beyond delusional lol

[@Celtic2Realms]

Michael does do good political documentaries

[@iJoxy]

41:29 is this Gove?

[@lindymcbroom953]

This is great!

[@johnnotrealname8168]

They were a bad idea. Too Americanised and unsuited to Britain. Having watched the 2010 debate the candidates came off dull, rehearsed and bemused.

[@IronFist.]

Yeah it was much better when the candidates didn't have to defend their beliefs and intentions in a setting that the entire electorate could view. 🙄

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@IronFist. Yeah because that is exactly what happened and the people would never know about beliefs beforehand. No way.

[@Warriorcats64]

Too late arguably.
The time for TV debates would have been in the Thatcher Era at the latest, but the Question Times [and PMQ's] already covered that anyway.

[@fshoaps]

Why does contempt for the USA drip from every word? The concept of a televised debate is not some solely American one. Nearly every Western democracy, ranging from Australia, to Germany, to Sweden, have had TV debates for their respective elections for a long time.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@fshoaps America's is most prominent and they are terrible debates. Also you think I am anti-American? Funny.

[@j.weeler]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

[@joshualifetree5398]

Reagan sounded like Biden in 2024.