2008 United States presidential debates
 | This article documents a current election. Information may change rapidly as the election progresses until official results have been published. Initial news reports may be unreliable, and the last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (October 2008) |
The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) will sponsor four debates for the 2008 U.S. presidential general election. The four debates will take place at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008. Three of the debates involve the presidential nominees, and one will involve the vice-presidential nominees.
Republican Party nominee John McCain and Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama have not agreed to additional debates; however, both were interviewed back to back at a forum in August and at the Service Nation Presidential Forum in September. Their respective running mates, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, have not mentioned any other debates.
The first presidential debate was held on September 26, 2008 and the only vice-presidential debate was held on October 2, 2008.
Joint appearances
On Saturday, August 16, 2008, both McCain and Obama appeared at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. Similar to the Compassion Forum held in the Democratic debates, each candidate appeared separately, answering similar questions from Warren for one hour. Obama appeared first, followed by McCain.[1][2]
On September 11, 2008, McCain and Obama were separately interviewed at the Service Nation presidential forum.
Scheduled debates
Although the nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties and any permitted third-party candidates must agree to the final schedule and formats, the following is the schedule announced by the CPD on November 19, 2007.[3]
Three presidential debates:
- Friday, September 26, 2008, 8 p.m. CDT at the University of Mississippi's Gertrude C. Ford Center in Oxford, Mississippi,[4] moderated by Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour on PBS. This debate focused on foreign policy and national security.[5][dead link]
- Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 8 p.m. CDT at Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee,[6] moderated by Tom Brokaw, special correspondent (and former evening news anchor) for NBC News. This debate will have a town-hall meeting format.
- Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 9 p.m. EDT at Hofstra University's Hofstra Arena in Hempstead, New York,[7] moderated by Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of Face the Nation. This debate will focus on domestic and economic policy.[5]
One vice-presidential debate:
- Thursday, October 2, 2008, 8 p.m. CDT at Washington University in St. Louis' Field House in the university's Athletic Complex in St. Louis, Missouri,[8] moderated by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent on The NewsHour and moderator and managing editor of Washington Week on PBS.[9] The vice presidential debate covered both foreign and domestic topics.
Format
The first and third of the 90-minute CPD presidential debates will be divided into nine 9-minute issue segments, allowing the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from a moderator and directly address each other. The second CPD presidential debate will feature a town hall format in which voters, either present at the debate or via the Internet, may pose questions on any topic. The single vice presidential debate format will follow that of the first and third presidential debates, but will include questions on all topics, and will have shorter response and discussion periods compared to the presidential forums.[10][11]
First presidential debate (Ole Miss)
| Date | September 26, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi |
| Participants | Barack Obama, John McCain Presidential Nominees |
The seal on the stage (at the University of Mississppi) said "The union and the constitution forever".
Although the debate was planned to focus on foreign policy and national security, Lehrer did devote the first half of the debate to the ongoing financial crisis.[12] McCain repeatedly referred to his experience, drawing on stories from the past. Often, he joked of his age and at one point seemed to mock his opponent. Obama tied McCain to what he characterized as Bush Administration mistakes and repeatedly laid out detailed plans. Neither McCain nor Obama broke from talking points, and neither candidate made any major gaffe.[13]
A CBS poll conducted after the debate on independent voters found that 38% felt it was a draw, 40% felt Obama had won, and 22% thought that McCain had won. Voters and analysts agreed that Obama had won on the economy, but that McCain had done better on foreign policy issues, which were the focus of the debate. However, Obama had a more substantial lead on the economy than McCain did on foreign policy.[14] Initial CNN polling reported Obama won the debate overall by a margin of 51–38.[15] A CBS poll of uncommitted voters shows Obama winning 39–24, with 37% of voters undecided.[16] Mark Halperin of Time graded Obama's performance as A- and McCain's as B-.[17] An estimated 52.4 million people watched the debate.[18]
Several pollsters noted in the subsequent week that the public's perception of the debate might have been influenced by John McCain's refusal to look at his opponent during the debate, something many considered disrespectful.[19]
Proposed postponement
On September 24, 2008, Sen. McCain announced his intention to suspend his campaign the next day and declared that he wanted to delay the first debate "until we have taken action" on the Paulson financial rescue plan.[20] The reason given for the proposed postponement was so that Sens. McCain and Obama could return to Washington, D.C. in order to work on a legislative response to the unfolding economic turmoil. Sen. Obama rejected that idea, stating that "this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess."[21] A McCain adviser suggested replacing the Vice Presidential debate with the first Presidential debates and postponing the VP debates to an unspecified later date.[22] The chancellor of the University of Mississippi, where the debate was to be held, proposed that Senator Obama hold a townhall meeting with the audience if Senator McCain failed to appear.[23] On the morning of September 26, McCain agreed to participate in the debate, claiming that there had been enough progress in the financial bailout plan.[24] Three days later, however, the House of Representatives defeated the bailout proposal, with McCain's fellow Republicans providing most of the negative votes.[25]
Vice presidential debate
| File:Biden-Palin.jpg | |
| Date | October 2, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri |
| Participants | Vice Presidential Nominees |
On October 2, 2008, U.S. vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin held a debate at Washington University in St. Louis. It was moderated by PBS's Gwen Ifill.[26][27] Washington State University in Pullman, Washington had been offered the opportunity to host the debate, but declined in order to pursue hosting one of the presidential debates.[28] It is the first such debate to feature a female candidate since the 1984 vice presidential debate.
During the debate Sarah Palin made the point of talking about a potential surge strategy in Afghanistan and mentioned the commanding general in Afghanistan as being "McClellan." Pundits criticized Biden's omission of the General's name, he referred to him several times only as the "commanding General in Afghanistan", until it was discovered the General's name is in fact McKiernan.
According to a poll of uncommitted voters conducted immediately after the debate by CBS News and Knowledge Network, 46% thought Senator Biden won the debate, 21% thought Governor Palin had won, and 33% thought it was a tie.[29] Fox News held a poll regarding the performance of each candidate, with 61% of votes in favor of Biden.[30] Another poll jointly held by The Washington Post and ABC News found that 32% of registered voters who watched the debate say Palin's selection as the vice presidential candidate makes them less likely to vote for McCain, up from 19% prior to the debate. Just 35% think Palin has the experience to effectively serve as president (down 14% since early September), and 60% think not, up 15%.[31] The Opinion Research Corporation's poll on the debate revealed that 51% of viewers felt Biden had won, while 36% were in favor of Palin. In the same poll, 87% said Biden was capable of fulfilling the duties of the vice presidency, while 42% said Palin is. Palin was considered more likable however, scoring 54% to Biden's 36%.[32] Mark Halperin of Time graded both candidates' performances a B.[33][34] One day before the debate, a commentator for the Republican Party claimed that the moderator could be biased towards the Democratic Party.[35] However, a national poll showed that 95% of viewers who watched the debate felt Ifill was fair and unbiased.[36]
Participants
The Republican and Democratic nominees, as well as any third-party and independent candidates who average 15 percent support in polls, will be invited to take part in the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
On August 2, 2008, Obama accepted the CPD proposal. In his letter, he stated that due to the short period between the conventions and the campaign, that "likely that the four Commission debates will be the sole series of debates" between the two. McCain criticized Obama for rejecting his town hall proposal.[37] On August 21, 2008, McCain and Obama announced they had agreed to the general CPD framework for the three scheduled presidential debates and the one vice presidential debate.[38]
A Zogby poll released on August 15, 2008 indicated that more than 50% of Democratic and Republican voters would like to see Bob Barr included in the presidential debates. Almost 70% of independent voters would also like to see him included. 46% of all voters polled and 59% of independents would also like to see Ralph Nader included.[39]
Second debate (Knoxville townhall)
| Date | October 7, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | Belmont University Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Participants | Barack Obama, John McCain Presidential Nominees |
Proposed debates that did not materialize
In November, 2007, the CPD rejected New Orleans as a debate site on grounds that the city had not recovered sufficiently from Hurricane Katrina to handle such an event.[40] The decision was criticized, and various candidates and newspapers urged the commission to hold a debate in New Orleans.[41]
On April 29, 2008, Google and YouTube announced that they would sponsor a U.S. Presidential Forum, to be held on September 18 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. It was intended to be hosted by The New Orleans Consortium, which consists of Women of the Storm and the Greater New Orleans Foundation as well as Dillard University, Loyola University New Orleans, Tulane University, and Xavier University.[42] Unlike debates organized by the CPD, the 15% polling threshold was substituted with a threshold for participation at "no less than 10 percent of the voting age population intending to vote, as measured by at least three nationally-recognized public opinion surveys."[43] This non-CPD sanctioned event was cancelled because no candidates or parties agreed to appear.[44]
In June, 2008, McCain proposed 10 town-hall style debates, considered his best format.[45] Obama proposed five total debates between June and Election Day: three traditional debates plus a joint town hall on the economy in July and an "in-depth debate" on foreign policy in August.[46]
See also
- United States presidential election debates
- Democratic Party (United States) presidential debates, 2008
- Republican Party (United States) presidential debates, 2008
References
- ^ Saddleback Civil Forum
- ^ CQ Politics | McCain and Obama Will Meet in Church
- ^ U.S. commission schedules 2008 presidential debates Reuters
- ^ 2008 Presidential Debate | The University of Mississippi - Official Home Page
- ^ a b McCain, Obama agree on fall debates
- ^ Belmont University - Debate 2008
- ^ 2008 Presidential Debate - Hofstra University
- ^ Washington University in St. Louis :: Vice Presidential Debate 2008
- ^ Presidential Debate Moderators Set: PBS Gets Two, ABC Shut Out, Lehrer, Brokaw, Schieffer, Ifill Get The Call The Huffington Post, August 5, 2008
- ^ "Commission on Presidential Debates Hails 2008 Formats as "Historic Breakthrough"". CPD. 2008-09-21.
- ^ [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/21/campaigns-agree-to-debate-formats/ Campaigns Agree to Debate Formats
- ^ News Analysis - McCain Leaps Into a Thicket - News Analysis - NYTimes.com
- ^ Obama, McCain claim victory after debate - Yahoo! News
- ^ CBS Poll: Obama Boosted Most By Debate, Uncommitted Voters Give Edge To Obama On Economy, McCain On Iraq - CBS News
- ^ TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Initial Polls Show Obama Winning The Debate
- ^ Cbs News/Knowledge Networks Poll
- ^ Mark Halperin, Grading the First Presidential Debate, 2008-09-26. Retrieved on 2008-09-29
- ^ McCain-Obama debate draws 52.4 million viewers
- ^ Assessing the debate
- ^ Bumiller, Elisabeth and Jeff Zeleny "First Debate Up in Air as McCain Puts Off Politicking" "The New York Times"2008-09-24. Retrieved on 2008-09-24
- ^ Obama, Barack "In Their Own Words: The Debate Dispute" "The New York Times" 2008-09-24. Retrieved on 2008-09-24.
- ^ Bash, Dana (September 24, 2008). "McCain camp to propose postponing VP debate". CNN.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "McCain Says He Will Attend Debate; Obama on His Way".
- ^ McCain, Obama debate Iraq strategy - CNN.com
- ^ "Final vote results for roll call 674". 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|source=ignored (help) - ^ http://debate.wustl.edu/
- ^ Mooney, Alexander. "Palin blames financial crisis on Wall Street". CNN.
- ^ Washington State University passed on vice presidential debate, Associated Press, November 21, 2007.
- ^ Zenilman, Avi (2008-10-02). "CBS News/Knowledge Networks insta-poll: Biden wins big". Politico. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Palin or Joe Biden?", telegraph.co.uk
- ^ "[www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100103600_pf.html Skepticism of Palin Growing, Poll Finds]", The Washing Post. Retreived on October 4, 2008.
- ^ "Palin or Joe Biden?", telegraph.co.uk
- ^ Halperin, Mark (2008-10-02). "Debate Report Card: Sarah Palin". Time. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Halperin, Mark (2008-10-02). "Debate Report Card: Joe Biden". Time. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Questions raised about moderator's impartiality, The Associated Press, October 1, 2008
- ^ "Debate poll says Biden won, Palin beat expectations", CNNPolitcs.com.
- ^ "Obama backs away from McCain's debate challenge". Associated Press. 2008-08-04.
- ^ http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/mccain-and-obam.html | McCain and Obama Reach Agreement on Debates | September 9, 2008
- ^ http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1538 Zogby Poll: Majority Want Libertarian Bob Barr Included in Presidential Debates
- ^ "Panel Picks 4 Debate Sites, Angering Excluded New Orleans"
- ^ Well Why Can't WeSource: New Orleans Times Picayune Nov. 20, 2007
- ^ "New Orleans Consortium Hosts Presidential Forum Powered by Google and YouTube"
- ^ "Candidate Eligibility"
- ^ 2nd chance for debate in N.O. fizzles- NOLA.com
- ^ McCain challenges Obama to town hall debates - CNN.com
- ^ Statements on McCain Town Hall Meetings Proposal - June 2008
External links
- Commission on Presidential Debates official site
- First debate
- University of Mississippi - Presidential Debate official site
- Presidential Debate full coverage from Memphis Commercial Appeal
- transcript and video from CNN
- transcript from The Wall Street Journal
- Vice-presidential debate
- Washington University in St. Louis - Vice Presidential Debate 2008 official site
- Live Feed of the Vice Presidential Debate
- transcript and video from CNN
- Second debate
- Belmont University - Debate 2008 official site
- Third debate
- Hofstra University - 2008 Presidential Debate official site