Tag: McCain
The Debating Spirit of 1963
[editor's note, by Ross Smith] promoted to front page and time stamp updated to kick this to the top -- Ross
(co-authored by Kelly Congdon and R. Gordon Mitchell)
As debate scholars, we applaud the June 4th letter from John McCain to Barack Obama proposing an ambitious series of town hall debates prior to the Democratic National Convention. While debates have become routine fixtures in modern presidential campaigns, there are some striking features of the McCain proposal.
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: McCain, Obama, presidential debates, Brett O'Donnell, debate formats
Barring Barr from CPD Debates
Now that Bob Barr (GA) has secured the Libertarian nomination for president efforts to get him in the political mix pick up pace. Not surprisingly some in the Libertarian party have begun to push Barr's inclusion in the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
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: CPD, General election debates, Bob Barr, Libertarians, Obama, McCain
Rock the Debates Calls for Third Party Inclusion in Debates
Rock the Debates has called McCain and Obama to include third party candidates in debates this fall. They write in an open letter to McCain "In all likelihood there will be four presidential candidates who will have a mathematical chance, in addition to the Democrat and you."
Names of the other candidates are not mentioned, perhaps because other candidates are still to be determined.
Imagine the insights with Bob Barr and Ralph Nader chiming in.
They cite Clinton and Obama's willingness to open the debates, a dubious claim at best and ask McCain to respond by May 20.
Don't hold your breadth. Multi-candidate debates only make sense when the contenders have a chance. Otherwise they are distractions. Mike Gravel could take time away from charming the Obama Girl to give comic relief.
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: Third Parties, Rock the Debates, McCain, fall debates
Boston Globe Op-Ed Handicaps General Election Debates
Alan Schroeder, School of Journalism at Northeastern University and author of Presidential Debates: 50 Years of High-Risk TV, handicaps the potential McCain/Clinton and McCain/Obama debates anticipated for next fall.
In his Boston Globe Op-Ed Schroeder, observes, for example
McCain lacks his rival's efficiency, and unlike Clinton, he operates close to the emotional surface. A debate between them would represent a reversal of stereotypes, with the male candidate appealing to the heart and the female appealing to the head.
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: Obama, Clinton, General Election debates, McCain, Schroeder
Sunday Morning Coffee: Tidbits and Miscellany on Des Moines
A real debate? A fatal mistake? Congress the cause of the I-35 collapse? Who is your audience? A new poll from Iowa.
These are just a few of the things I'm mulling as I prepare for this morning's debate with my favorite java jolt.
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: debate, debates, real debate, fatal mistake, I-35, McCain, audience
McCain on Meet the Press (November 12, 2006)
Meet the Press offers an interesting format for ongoing debates involving public officials. Russert's great skill follows a basic formula. He addresses the questions on people's mind rather than throwing the softballs for sound bites that you get in many other places. Russert presents the basic question and listens closely to the initial response. That much, you can hear anywhere. Following that response, however, the debate really begins. Maintaining objectivity by treating all his political guests the same, Russert will follow up the initial position with a serious challenge. Usually, the challenge is the guests own statements, if they are at odds with the response just given, or the statements of others who, although not present, are still in the debate. Russert follows up until the guest says something clear about the conflict, and then he leaves it to the viewers to consider the response.
Keeping up with Meet the Press offers a good understanding of the political debates beyond the sound bites. Here, I will offer analysis of these Russert-constructed debates. As always, the best way to check this analysis is with your own read. You can always see the MTP transcripts at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id
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: McCain, 2008 Presidential Election, Meet the Press
