Dems Cancel CBS-Sponsored Debate

The Democratic National Committee has canceled the Dec. 10 Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CBS News. It was to have been held in Los Angeles.

"Due to the uncertainty created by the ongoing labor dispute between CBS and the Writers Guild of America, the DNC has canceled the December 10th debate in Los Angeles. There are no plans to re-schedule," DNC Communications Director Karen Finney said in a statement.

"CBS News regrets not being able to offer the Democratic presidential debate scheduled for Dec. 10 in Los Angeles," CBS News said in a statement. "The possibility of picket lines set up by the Writers Guild of America and the unwillingness of many candidates to cross them made it necessary to allow the candidates to make other plans."

Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson were among the candidates who had said they would not participate in the debate in the event of a strike by CBS staffers. A spokesperson for the writer's guild said earlier today that Dec. 10, the day the debate was to have taken place, "is a date that we are strongly considering" for a strike, CBS station WBBM reports.

On November 19th, the Writers Guild of America announced that a group of CBS staffers, including news writers and graphic artists, had voted to authorize a strike. They have been working without a contract for more than two years.