There's a growing field of the ethics of argumentation, where scholars are exploring what are the characteristics of an ideal arguer, what dispositions?
167.A gifted debater should always be full of passion and vigour and never interrupts or even quarrels with his opponent, but responds rapidly with remarkable logical argument.
Usually incumbents in the first first round of debates don't do that well, because they're not used to talking to rallies whereas Trump was used to talking to rallies.
My task was made easier by the generosity of Illinois's senior senator, Dick Durbin, a friend and disciple of Paul Simon's, and one of the most gifted debaters in the Senate.