Moderators for debates announced

Posted: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:27 AM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Mark Murray
The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the moderators for the four presidential/vice presidential debates -- one of whom is NBC's own Tom Brokaw.

First presidential debate
Friday, September 26
The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor and Anchor, The NewsHour, PBS

Vice presidential debate
Thursday, October 2
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Gwen Ifill
Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour, and Moderator and Managing Editor,
Washington Week, PBS

Second presidential debate (town meeting)
Tuesday, October 7
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
Tom Brokaw
Special Correspondent, NBC News

Third presidential debate
Wednesday, October 15
Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
Bob Schieffer
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, and Host, Face the Nation

Below is the press release...

Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Moderators PRN0000020080805e4850053m
461 Words
5 August 2008
15:01 GMT
PR Newswire (U.S.)
English
Copyright © 2008 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Paul G. Kirk, Jr. and Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., co-chairmen of the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), today announced the moderators for the 2008 general election presidential and vice presidential debates. The moderators, and the schedule and locations for the debates (as announced on November 21, 2007), are as follows:

First presidential debate
Friday, September 26
The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor and Anchor, The NewsHour, PBS

Vice presidential debate
Thursday, October 2
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Gwen Ifill
Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour, and Moderator and Managing Editor,
Washington Week, PBS

Second presidential debate (town meeting)
Tuesday, October 7
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
Tom Brokaw
Special Correspondent, NBC News

Third presidential debate
Wednesday, October 15
Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
Bob Schieffer
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, and Host, Face the Nation

Each debate will begin at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

Format
The format for the debates, announced on November 21, 2007, will be:

-- Each debate will have a single moderator and last for 90 minutes.

-- In the first and third presidential debates and the vice presidential debate, the candidates will be seated with the moderator at a table.

-- One presidential debate will focus primarily on domestic policy and one presidential debate will focus primarily on foreign policy. The second presidential debate will be held as a town meeting in which citizens will pose questions to the candidates. The vice presidential debate will cover both foreign and domestic topics.

-- During the first and third presidential debates, and the vice presidential debate, the time will be divided into eight, ten-minute segments. The moderator will introduce each segment with an issue on which each candidate will comment, after which the moderator will facilitate further discussion of the issue, including direct exchange between the candidates for the balance of that segment.

-- The participants in the town meeting will pose their questions to the candidates after reviewing their questions with the moderator for the sole purpose of avoiding duplication. The participants will be chosen by the Gallup Organization and will be undecided voters from the Nashville, Tenn. standard metropolitan statistical area. During the town meeting, the moderator has discretion to use questions submitted by Internet.

-- Time at the end of the final presidential debate will be reserved for closing statements.

Participants

The CPD 2008 Candidate Selection Criteria, announced on November 21, 2007, will be the exclusive means of determining the candidates to be invited to participate in the debates.

For more information, please visit http://www.debates.org.

EMAIL THIS

Comments

Same old. Same old. When are we going to get some new blood to moderate these debates? And Brokaw? Please. It will take an army of interpreters to decode his mumbles.

Lag Time (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:32 AM)

I want to know what idiot decided that the town hall meeting should be in Tennessee, which is deep Red. It should have been held in a battle ground state. Nevada, Missouri, etc.

Don't forget to wish Obama a belated happy birthday!
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/pf?outreach_page_id=45154

BL, Cincinnati OH (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:34 AM)

Tom Brokaw is coming to Nashville! YAY!

*Rushes off to find out how I can get a ticket!*

Nashville_fan (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:36 AM)

Why are moderators necessary? Just let the two them talk. Extra time will needed for Obama because he tends to stutter when he doesn't have a tele-prompter.

Cleveland Phil (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:37 AM)

Let's own Brokaw can be fairer than he is on Meet the Press. He is no Tim Russert.

Kelly (from Pittsburgh) (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:37 AM)

How come no debate moderated by Code Pink?

Del Graystone, San Francisco CA (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:38 AM)

I will prefer gwen Iffil do the third presidential debate and have bob schieffer do the vp debates. I don't like schieffer. I want a fair debate not questions that favors one opponent to the other because of personal preference. The abc primary debate with clinton and obama is shameful. With gas almost $4, energy crisis, economy in the tank and two wars, I can careless about flag pins, patriotism nonsense. I want to know what the candidates vision is for this country and how they are going to fix the economy and end this war.

voter (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:40 AM)

So I just read the press release about the Nashville debate being for "undecided voters" . . . say what?

I guess I just developed a few doubts about who I'm going to vote for! :)

lol

Obama/McCain - Let me in that debate! :)

Nashville_fan (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:40 AM)

Where's FOX's debate?
--Ha!

Nicholas: Minnesota (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:40 AM)

Chuck, NY: To your suggestion of rating pundits, I think when this election is over, there are going to be quite a few books written on the role the media played in this election. There is a whole lot of anger out there.

And it's not going to be pretty. Senator Obama is indeed being held to a much higher standard by the inside the beltway tv pundits. I see nothing wrong with that as he is not someone well known.

But to give Senator McCain "a pass" on his obvious misstatements on important issues facing our country is sad, really sad. I'm seeing out and out lies being spoken every single day on the tube.

It was, it is and always will be - propaganda.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:40 AM)

The way Obama has been flip-flopping lately, the lastest being his stance on drilling, a good debate would be to have just him on the stage. He could argue with himself for hours.

H. Thoms, Lincoln NE (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:41 AM)

Excellent! The "A" team for moderators! I love Gwen Ifel. She'd be perfect for MTP.

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:41 AM)

I thought the first debate was traditionally standing up?

-- Insert Old McCain can't stand joke here --

Cannon, Largo, MD (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:41 AM)

I sure hope they stay away from the tabloid questions!! They should have gotten Fareed Zakaria from CNN as a moderator. He's great!! Ifil and Lehrer should be good.

Terry, IN (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:41 AM)

Thanks goodness charlie gibson won't be moderating. he's unbelievably biased.

John (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:41 AM)

This is when Tim Russert will be (even more) missed.
Chuck Todd is a much better choice than Tom Brokaw.

Kimberly inTexas (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:42 AM)

At least none of those goons from ABC were asked to pollute the airwaves again...

Charlie + George = FAIL (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:43 AM)

So glad that ABC won't be hosting a debate.

Beth (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:43 AM)

Will BHO really show up, or can he not duck McCain any longer?

let's get ready to rumble (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:44 AM)

What a relief that the dynamic duo of Stephanopolis/Gibson will not grace us with another fantastic performance.

All four of these anchors have reputations for intelligence. It's good to see -- especially Gwen Ifill.

Our family will miss Tim Russert, though.

http://midwestmoms.blogspot.com

Midwest Mom, Illiana (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:44 AM)

Thank you for keeping the knuckleheads (that would be you, George Stephanopoulos, Charlie Gibson and ABC) off the schedule! I don't think we could take 90 more minutes of flag pins!

Pete - Albany, NY (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:45 AM)

The debates with the early Alzheimer’s candidate, McCain, are going to laughable. He won't remember his facts. Barack will confuse and blow what’s left of his mind away.

McCain your poll numbers will drop.

Beverly in Chicago (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:45 AM)

The debate formats seem skewed to favor McCain. Notice two of the debates are seated so that Obama does not have a visual advantage, and there will be a town hall like McCain wanted. Also, the town hall is in Tennesse, a Southern state with Southern "sensibilities."

Cindy Lou, TX (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:45 AM)

Let's hope Bill and Hillary don't have something up their sleeves at the convention. Therefore Obama would be able to attend these debates. (Eat him alive Obama).

I don't know, something doesn't seem right to me but we will see.

MIA in Miami (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:48 AM)

Well, at least they have some authentic journalists covering the debates. None of the pretend journalists from ABC.

Yola, CT (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:49 AM)

What??? No ABC news goons???

Teresa, OH (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:50 AM)

Sounds like a winner to me on the surface.

I see that ABC and Fox are not mentioned! It's payday for the trash tabloid newsanchors.

Thanks for all the good information (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:51 AM)

Check this out on great American Cain

The truth about McCain; [www.capitolhillblue.com]

Comment: McCain: racist, bigot & homophobe
August 1, 2008 - 7:14am.
By DOUG THOMPSON

John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.

As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain's table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.

McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.

Capt. smash, Salt Lake city, utah (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:51 AM)

What no ABC news?

Hahahah

The Truth (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:52 AM)

John McCain has an excellent chance of winning and, I am not surprised the poll is starting to show McCain ahead. Many of the Hillary Clinton supporters do not like Barack Obama and they are voting against Obama by voting for John McCain. There are too many inconsistencies in Obama's biography, his background in Chicago politics, and the church he attended 20 years along with some of the people he associated with that do not set well with many Americans (democrats and republicans). Obama has a record of voting present much of the time which shows he didn't do a good job as a senator, so why elect him to a higher office?

I think the Middle East and European tour may have hurt Obama more than it helped him. It proved again how much Obama advertises himself and how the American media follows him around trying to shove him down the throats of American voters. It all looked so staged and phony. It was obvious Obama loved making a grand attention-getting speech to a huge crowd in Germany, but on "Meet the Press" he said he thinks there have been enough debates. Obama doesn't want to debate John McCain or answer impromptu questions. This might show how inexperienced he really is. Obama would much rather perform to a huge crowd and give a prepared speech using a teleprompter so he can be a "rock star". I think Obama is "The Great Pretender" and I will definitely vote against Obama even though I am a life-long democrat.

Hillary Democrats for McCain (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:53 AM)

How in the world did they manage to get BOTH presidential debates to be sit down. That's BS!

JessicaElaine (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:54 AM)

No Gibson or Stephanopolous. Not surprising. Maybe we'll actually get some useful debates.

Brett (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:54 AM)

This looks like a good schedule. I didn't think the 10 townhall meeting stuff was going to fly. It sounded like a bad idea at the time to me. I've had my fill with all the democratic debates and the few republickan ones already. And it really didn't give either candidate much time to campaign-they'd have to prep full time for that many town hall meetings. It would be like having oral exams 10 times during one semester!!!

I'm glad to see Gwen Ifill in this mix of moderators again. I just love her. She's fair, direct, unyeilding, and yet does not play "gotch ya".

Suz in KS (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:54 AM)

The moderators are OK
I watch Gwen Ifill on Washington Week in Review every week

Let's hope that Obama picks a strong VP
Joe Biden or John Edwards would eat up any Republican VP candidate.
I'd love to see either against Romney or Crist

I just hope McCain doesn't pick Huckabee
He'd be McCains strongest pick (except for the evolution thing)
He seems honest and decent and semi populist

If this election really is about Obama, he'd better bring his A game
Be calm and cool and answer any lies or distortion calmly
I'd love to see McCain explode !!
(see Senators Grassley, Cornyn and Thurmond)

Obama/Biden '08
What are we waiting for ?

Will we ever know the truth about Iraq ?

How much responsibility lies with the lap dog, lick spittle media ?

How much with the Democratic 'opposition' trying to position themselves for the 2008 primary season ?

Msierra, SF (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:57 AM)

During debates, can you ask McCain questions about his past?

John McCain: Early Improprieties. Lobbyists, Lobbyists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r-kOIs-W6E&eurl

McCains to Profit on Anheuser, InBev Deal
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/14/mccains-to-profit-on-anheuser-inbev-deal/

McCain Pressed On Past Marital Infidelities During Town Hall (VIDEO)
stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust buzz up June 4, 2008 12:29 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/04/mccain-pressed-on-past-ma_n_105189.html

McCain: A Question of Temperament
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902224.html

banko (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:58 AM)

I wonder, as has been speculated before, if this head-to-head format is what will cause either Obama or McCain to break out of the gate.

Truth be told, neither McCain, nor Obama has ever flourished in a debate setting, so one wonders who this will benefit in the end.

Comrade Kevin (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:59 AM)

Don't think Brokaw is fair and balanced.

WOW (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:00 PM)

Hillary Democrats for McCain - You're retarded! The fact that you're even thinking about voting for McCain shows you were never really a hard core supporter of Hillary's. She'd be outraged that you were even contemplating not voting democratic, I don't care if it was a mouse on the ticket. Vote against you're interests, you deserve another 4 years of misery.

Jim (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:01 PM)

I am glad that sleeze bag Charlie Gibson wasn't selected..

jim (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:10 PM)

I think Obama is "The Great Pretender" and I will definitely vote against Obama even though I am a life-long democrat.
Hillary Democrats for McCain
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What a STUPID statement. You are No democrat. You can't possibly defend McCain's policies versus Hillary's policies, as Obama's are almost IDENTICAL to those Hillary had. You are just angry that Hillary was left in the dust by the Junior Senator from Illinois. GET OVER IT. NO DEMOCRAT would utter that they've been happy with the past performance of the last 8 years and you'd be voting for 4 more years of the same. You are a joke.....only you're NOT funny. You need to grow up.

Diane from Illinois (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:14 PM)

Brokaw will reveal as he has on MTP his total bias and worship of his "greatest generation" idol McCain. He and McCain both will be interupting Obama during every one of his responses.

Brian, Cedar Hill, TX (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:15 PM)

No, Cleveland Phil you've got it wrong. Extra time will be needed for the pregnat pauses when McCain has forgotten the question.

Jim Rockville, MD (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:23 PM)

Guess they learned from the past and didn't ask ABC, eh? What a joke THAT was! However, Brokaw isn't mcuh different. Can't stand his voice; he talks like he's got socks in his mouth. He's also done a terrible job on MTP. Never thought I would see him like this. I agree, they should have gotten Fareed Zakaria from CNN; he would have done a bang up job as moderator. This is going to get interesting.

Diane from Illinois (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:23 PM)

Where's FOX's debate?
--Ha!
Nicholas: Minnesota (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:40 AM)
---------------------

...and where is ABC's? C'mon, no George Sucking-up-again?

MI Chick (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:28 PM)

It looks like they designed these debates specifically to not have a repeat ABC debate. All of these confirmed moderators I have no doubt will stay on policy.

Howie (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:29 PM)

I'm glad they're not having that cackling, hostility-inciting, ill-informed, interrupter - Campbell Brown.

Sam (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:30 PM)

Well I have said this a lot. But......HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT MCCAIN HAS NOT WORN A FLAG PIN IN AT LEAST 4 MONTHS? JUST GO BACK AND LOOK AT PICS AND VIDEO CLIPS. NOTHING THERE FOLKS.

Now how come no one says anything? Granted it is the most stupid thing I ever heard of when they attacked Obama. But come on why is different now when it is McCain - ARE YOU ALL BLIND??

MCCAIN NOT WEARING FLAG PIN (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 12:32 PM)

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