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Presidential Debates: Candidates
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Presidential debates are the single most important event in the process of selecting a presidential candidate. They provide the American people with the opportunity to view all viable candidates as they discuss important issues in an unscripted manner, designed with the best interests of the people, not the political parties, in mind. They are an essential component of true democracy in America.
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Presidential debates can change the course of elections, but George Farah, executive director of Open Debates, has evidence showing that the debates' rules of order have been hijacked by the two main political parties. The result? Moderators can't ask follow-up questions, important issues are never raised, and credible third-party candidates are excluded from the proceedings altogether.
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The 1960 general election presidential debates came about for at least three reasons. One, both candidates (Nixon and Kennedy) saw political advantage to using television; two, the national networks were eager to prove they could be civic-minded without federal regulations; and three, debates were seen as a part of a larger movement to reform presidential campaigns. Also, Congress suspended the equal time provision of the Communications Act of 1934, to allow a two man debate. The law stated a broadcasting station permitting a candidate use of its facilities had to give an equal opportunity to all other candidates for that office. (Meaning all MINOR candidates as well as the speaker's major-party opponent would be given equal air time.) The 1960 debate was the first face-to-face debate of the major party nominees.
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Many critics are hostile to the bipartisan leanings of the Commission on Presidential Debates. The organization was established when the Democratic and Republican parties took issue with the League of Women Voters, and is led by major Democrat and Republican organizers as its chairpersons. Also, the Commission on Presidential Debates's criteria for a "realistic" candidate eliminates strong third party candidates from participating in the debate, even when they have garnered more than 15% of popular support. The rules of the debates themselves, limited as they are from rebuttals, follow-up questions, or spontaneous audience questions, cause some to question the authenticity of the exchanges. Several groups of united voters have proposed changes to the Commission on Presidential Debates's criteria to encourage an open dialogue, unrehearsed candidate responses, and viable third party candidate participation.
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The most definitive report ever on verdict effects, this book gives striking new evidence that media assessments of presidential debates sway voters. The authors conducted 2,350 surveys and extensive analysis of news reports to scrutinize the post-debate news of 1988. They ... examined the effects of the "attack ads" used by Bush and Dukakis. They found that the news media consistently downplay debate content and instead emphasize their own views on candidate performance--media verdicts influence voters as much as the debates themselves.
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Bob Sullentrup, from St. Charles, is the founder of the "Rock the Debates" effort – a campaign to get third party candidates and viable independent Presidential candidates included in the televised debates generally reserved for only the Republican and Democratic nominees. Sullentrup is ... the national Secretary of the Libertarian Party and is a past chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party.
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