Let The Debates Begin!
Campaign aides for Al Gore and George W. Bush agreed Saturday to a series of three debates moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS that both sides said will provide more flexibility and more of a “free-flowing style” than previous debates.
Both campaigns and commission officials called the new approach for the presidential debates “historic.”
The formats will provide the moderator more discretion in following up on questions and allowing the candidates to continue to debate a particular topic.
“It gives the moderator a more free-flowing style and more discretion to stay on one particular subject,” said Don Evans, campaign chairman for Gov. Bush. “It gives the American people a chance to see the candidates in a more substantive, real discussion.”
Gore campaign chairman William Daley said he spoke with the vice president who told him he was very satisfied with the results of the negotiations.
| Debate Schedule Here are the dates, locations, and formats for this fall's presidential debates: October 3 - University of Massachusetts in Boston. Traditional, two-podium format. October 11 - Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Talk-show style format with the candidates and moderator seated around a table. October 17 - Washington University in St. Louis. Town hall format similar to debates held in 1992 and 1996. The vice presidential candidates will debate October 5 at Centre College in Danville, Ky in the talk-show format. Moderator to be named early this week. All debates will run for 90 minutes and begin at 9 p.m. Eastern. |
“This is a good day for the process and a good day for America,” said Paul Kirk, co-chairman of the commission and a former chairman of the Democratic National Comittee.
Commission co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said having three different formats will allow voters to see the candidates in a variety of settings.
“We are not electing the best debater and that is why seeing these candidates in different formats is important,” he said.
After meeting seven and one-half hours on Friday, the two campaigns broke to review the proposal before meeting again Saturday to work out details and sign off on the formats.
For weeks, Bush had balked at the commission's plans. At one point, the Texas governor had tried to end-run the panel and offered a counter-schedule of debates that included less formal encounters on TV talk shows, only to feel a public opinion backlash.
Both campaigns accepted the three presidential and one vice presidential debate sponsored by the Commissin on Presidential Debates after a four-and-a-half hour meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, which marked the first time that both campaigns and commission officials and had sat down together.
Gore is considered the more experienced debater and many pundits believe the vice president has a firmer grasp of the intricacies of policy details. Bush's strength is more in his ability to connect with individual voters.
Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan and Green Party nominee Ralph Nader, both registering single digits in national polls, most likely will not meet the commission's threshold of 15 percent in media polls for inclusion.