Elections

Study: Obama won ‘interruption debate’

Monique Hamm Contributor
Font Size:

The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University on Friday declared President Barack Obama the winner of the ‘interruption debate.’

According to the study, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was interrupted a total of 59 times by either Obama or moderator Candy Crowley during Tuesday’s town hall presidential debate. Meanwhile, Obama was interrupted only 43 times during the 90 minute debate.

“President Obama may have benefited in the short run by adopting a much more aggressive style,” CMPA president Dr. Robert Lichter said in a recent statement. “But so many interruptions push the boundaries of civility in political debate.”

While the candidates interrupted Crowley 20 times total, the moderator herself interrupted 38 times during the program.

Crowley took heated criticism from Republicans for interrupting Romney at one point to remind viewers that Obama had, in fact, mentioned the word “terror” the day after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya.  (RELATED: Why Candy Crowley was out of line to interrupt Romney on Libya)

Follow Monique on Twitter