…instead of real-ity.

Some 52.4 million people watched Friday night’s debate. That may seem like a lot, but it’s actually 16 percent fewer than watched the first debate between President Bush and John Kerry in 2004 — and despite the fact that 12 networks (all the majors, all the newsies and a few you probably don’t get) aired it live.

Why the drop? It could be because more people chose to enjoy their Friday nights out on the town, planning to watch it via Web the next day. (As far as I know, there’s no data on how many have watched it this way, nor even a way to accurately compile such data. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Bush-Kerry debate was on a Thursday night.)

But still, the numbers are surprising. Isn’t this “the most important election of our lifetime”? Isn’t this supposed to be the most exciting election in the history of the universe? More to the point, about 38 million watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, and about 500,000 more than that watched McCain’s.

Let that sink in for a minute. Assuming that two-thirds of the people who watched one candidate’s acceptance speech did not watch the other’s — and, based on my totally unscientific discussions with partisans on both sides the days after each acceptance speech, that’s a pretty good guess — it’s likely that fewer people watched the debate than watched at least one of the acceptance speeches.

Real questions by a real person, vs. speeches given via TelePrompTer. Do we really care where they stand?

Recent events lead me to think otherwise. Consider how much the debate coverage focuses on personality/image/composure (McCain didn’t look at Obama! Obama didn’t have any good zingers!), while policy differences are simplified and utterly false statements are just left hanging in the air (Pakistan was not a “failed state,” as McCain chastised; Obama and Michelle are coming up on their 16th anniversary, not 15th… I bet he’s in the doghouse!).

Debates are boring. I get it — I’m not even excited about Thursday’s between Palin and Biden, despite the fact that it’s bound to be rife with comic value on both sides. But seriously! The day we’d rather hear a prepared speech than an actual spontaneous discussion on the issues is the day we’ve lost the right to complain. (Re: Bush 2000′s “steady hand” vs. Bush 2008′s stubborn refusal to consider things commonly known as “facts.”)

P.S.: This should tell you a good deal about the intelligence of the average voter. (VodPodded at right, but bigger-screen here.)