Austin Debate Liveblog
Join us in the comments as we liveblog tonight's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Tag: CNN
Preview - A Debate as Big as Texas? Tuesday 8 PM (ET)
CNN, Univision Communications Inc. and the Texas Democratic Party in conjunction with the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation will host a Democratic presidential primary debate on Thursday, Feb. 21. The program will air live from the LBJ Auditorium at the University of Texas in Austin on CNN and on CNN International from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (ET). CNN’s Campbell Brown will moderate with their John King and Univision’s Jorge Ramos helping ask the questions.
The CNN press release touts their hosting, oh, and incidentally it may have something to do with the election.
It is the ninth presidential primary debate sponsored by CNN this cycle. CNN's debates in 2007 and 2008 have been among the most-watched in cable news history.
There is surprisingly little news about the debate in media outlets. Even CNNPolitics.com is muted in the hype (often promoted on air, however). There may be reasons including other political news crowding out the debate and the debate "belongs" to CNN so don't promote competitors.
Analysis below fold
Texas Debate Set - Feb 21; No to Wisconsin Debate
The New York Times Political blog announced within the hour that Obama has accepted an Austin Texas debate
Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to debate Hillary Rodham Clinton in Austin, Tex., his campaign announced.The event, co-sponsored by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party, is set for Feb. 21, ahead of the state's March 4 hybrid caucus/primary.
The debate is also sponsored by the Texas Democratic Party and in conjunction with the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation. The program will air live from the LBJ Auditorium at the University of Texas in Austin on CNN and on CNN International from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (ET)and will air in Spanish on the Univision Network beginning at 11:30 p.m.
Debates are always political, before and after. More below on pressure via Texas and Wisconsin debates.
The Presidential Debate Season Continues - Debating more Debates
The primary debate season may never end. CNN has proposed holding two nationally televised debates from Ohio on February 27 (Democrats) and February 28 (GOP). This would be CNN sponsored 12th and 13th debates.
If the nomination process has not finalized by the end of month, candidates may be forced into yet more shared appearances. Perhaps CNN is buoyed by attracting 8.3 million viewers for last Thursday's Hollywood debate.
Also developing is a debate about which debates: Texas vs. Ohio/CNN vs. MSNBC.
Hillary vs. Barack: Tonight's Hollywood Feature - "Spoiling for a fight?"
The last two standing, Clinton and Obama, face off tonight, CNN 8:00 pm (EST), at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif., home of the Academy Awards. Highland and Hollywood, the Kodak's address, is close in proximity to Simi Valley's Reagan Library, but worlds away. The GOP debate held last night and Democratic debate tonight will be back-to-back on the schedule but may be light years away in character.
"Spoiling for a fight" may best describe what the media is looking for in, arguably, the long primary season's most important debate. However, overt confrontation would be a disservice for both candidates. Momentum, feeding or stemming, seems more important than sanctioning more news cycles of "petty sparing."
The Clinton camp has reason to nip speculation of defensiveness or worry; the Obama camp risks conceding the high ground that underwrites his very rationale.
Other media outlets are also previewing tonight's debate.
Air Force One Stole the Show for a Second Time - GOP Debate at Reagan Library
I am aware that debates offer information to viewers that have not tuned in before. Yet anyone interested enough to stayed tuned in for this Reagan Library affair likely was familiar with the battle for Florida, finished just yesterday, yet there was nothing new. Even if debates are ultimately staged for the chattering class, they too should be disappointed. Nothing much happened.
The debate felt like a microcosm of the Florida primary: same lines, same issues, same tired phrasing. In fairness, no one can come up with new material that close to perhaps the decisive primary; it was more a scheduling error serving News needs than those of candidates or voters.
The GOP debate in Boca Raton last Thursday was dull. This encounter had a couple sparks, but also failed to engage.
The two GOP Reagan Library debates that served as bookends for the GOP Primary debate season both were upstaged by the presence of Air Force One.
What follows are some pundit-level comments:
Reagan Library Take Two: Preview and Liveblog
Nearly nine months ago I previewed the "GOP Debate Debut in the Shadow of Reagan," as ten candidates were vying to inherit Reagan's mantle.
Tonight, the same scene, the Reagan Library in Simi, California, with Air Force One as the dramatic backdrop, has fewer actors and the script now has one of them, John McCain cast as the front-runner.
McCain reminds voters that he was a "foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution" by way of asserting his conservative bona fides.
Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul have one last chance to debate the merits of McCain's claim.
In the comments I will liveblog their efforts and John McCain's debut as the candidate with the right to invoke Reagan's 11th commandment, "Thou shall not speak ill of any Republican."
The debate airs live on CNN the web at 8pm ET, is moderated by Anderson Cooper, and co-sponsored by Politico.com. You can go to politico to submit questions and to vote for questions.
You can prepare yourself for watching the debate by reading David William's excellent compilation of tips for watching.
An Actual Debate in SC - Pointed Sparring Explored Hope vs. Accusations
The three remaining Democrats engaged in real debate Monday night in SC. Gone was the mild mannered Obama; present was the clearest contrast of new vision vs. entrenched style yet in the campaign.
Obama confronted the petty nickel and dime character of accusations in innuendo that have dominated the presidential campaign since Obama's win in Iowa. He took on Hillary directly, pointedly, saying in no uncertain terms that she and Bill Clinton are willing to lie and play political games to win, calling for a greater purpose in the pursue of power.
Even though the media spin will undoubtedly highlight the "bickering," the exchange of issues and vision was much more finely drawn than in past encounters. Hillary was scrappy, Edwards was strong with the narrative, and Obama came across as just plain smart.
MLK Democratic Debate Tonight in SC
8 pm EST, on CNN, Wolf Blitzer Moderates.
The top three Democratic presidential candidates face off in a Monday night debate in South Carolina. Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina share the stage at Myrtle Beach's Palace Theatre in a showdown as the nation honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday.
The debate, put together by CNN and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, comes five days before the Democratic primary in South Carolina.
GOTCHA - THE FALLACY OF CNN'S DEBATE QUESTIONS
My prejudice is that the CNN-YouTube debates were poorly orchestrated affairs, and have said so on record (Minnesota Public Radio) . This project is a more systematic examination of the questions selected by CNN. After viewing the questions preferred by Anderson Cooper and others I expected to find the following:
- Entertainment bias in selection
- Gotcha Questions
- Themes aimed at Party (GOP) hypocrisy
- Issues selection tilted toward conflict/drama rather than consequence
When I examined the individual questions my inquiry took an unexpected turn. Certainly, many of the questions could be viewed through the above lens, but the variety of questions was much richer than their generalized duplicity. Damning the questions as double-dealing alone fails to answer how the questions worked. What were their specific sins?
It's Not YouTube's Mess . . .
techPresident has just pointed out that YouTube has invited feedback following the CNN debacle GOP debate. They interpret that call as YouTube "responding to the CNN blowback." OK, but why? CNN made the choice from thousands of questions, selected the rotations, and delighted in the "you're a hypocrite" framing. The offending party is not YouTube.
The jury is in and it is nearly unanimous: CNN's selection process produced entertainment, not light. Even the Save-the-Debate-Coalition condemned the process. The voice was less that of voters and more of CNN's "crack political team." Save-the-Debate writes:
Unfortunately, CNN's flawed editorial process in choosing the questions asked of the candidates marred an otherwise lively debate and betrayed the trust of the Republican candidates and the YouTube user community.Not to mention voters who are left to assess crazy questions eliciting equally undignified answers.
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