Why it's so hard for men to debate women

Here are some reasons why:

Remarks can come across as patronizing. Take, for example, the 1984 Vice Presidential debates, the first national debate that included a female candidate. Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush got in hot water for explaining foreign policy to Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice-presidential candidate for a major party. “Let me help you with the difference, Mrs. Ferraro, between Iran and the embassy in Lebanon,” he said. Ferraro retorted: “I almost resent Vice President Bush your patronizing attitude that you have to teach me about foreign policy.”

In a follow-up interview, Ferraro said she thought Bush “was kind of looking down his patrician nose at me” when he doubted her foreign policy chops. “He made the mistake of trying to kind of look down on me and give me a little bit of a lesson,” she said. “And people did not like that in him.” It was mansplaining, before that was a thing.

By contrast, then-Sen. Joe Biden avoided making a mistake during his vice presidential debate with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008. Biden maintained an even keel by aiming most of his criticism at John McCain, rather than going after his counterpart. He never got personal (even after she started off the debate by asking if she could call him “Joe”) and he rarely focused on her own statements or policies, instead choosing to focus on McCain. The tactic worked, although the debate was not very memorable as a result.