Victory in a debate lies in losing - because in losing, you have learned more than the winner (ideally).
That's a little closer. What he was trying to say was that the true victory of the debate is the discussion that ensues and how everyone benefits from it.
I lol'd. Whatever, I'm not going to argue with someone who doesn't have a basic understanding of the initial statement.
Seriously. Why are they called the winners of the debate if the real winner is the looser? Think about that... Its a paradox. The winner is the person who does the best in the debate, has the most rebutles. etc. Maybe they don't learn the most, but they do win, dont they?