text:  The reason I chose the Lincoln-Douglas, and there were three of those, but the first one is the one that influenced history the most because Abraham Lincoln was catapulted to national fame and two years later was elected president, which altered all of our history to this day. And that's why I chose it, to show the power that debates can have. Now, you make an excellent point where Reagan wiped Carter out in the debate, and that was the end of Carter because it was just a week before the vote.