The 2008 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 2008 presidential election.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization formed in 1987, organized four debates among the major party candidates, sponsored three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. Only Republican nominee John McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only two to appear in the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The CPD-sponsored vice presidential debate took place between their respective vice presidential running mates, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
Both McCain and Obama did not agree to additional debates; however, each was interviewed at the Civil Forum on the Presidency, held on August 16, 2008, and at the Service Nation Presidential Forum on September 11, 2008. Both Palin and Biden also did not participate in any additional debates.
Joint appearances
On Saturday, August 16, 2008, both McCain and Obama appeared at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California. 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.
On September 11, 2008, McCain and Obama were separately interviewed at the Service Nation presidential forum at Columbia University.
Debate schedule 2008 United States presidential election debates Date & Time Host Location Moderator ParticipantsKey: Participant. Non-invitee. SenatorJohn McCainof Arizona SenatorBarack Obamaof Illinois Friday, September 26, 2008, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT University of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi Jim Lehrer of PBS Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Belmont University Nashville, Tennessee Tom Brokaw of NBC Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Hofstra University Hempstead, New York Bob Schieffer of CBS 2008 United States vice presidential debate Date & Time Host Location Moderator ParticipantsKey: Participant. Non-invitee. GovernorSarah Palinof Alaska SenatorJoe Bidenof Delaware Thursday, October 2, 2008, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri Gwen Ifill of PBS
Format The first and third of the 90-minute CPD presidential debates were divided into nine 9-minute issue segments, allowing the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from the moderator and directly address each other. The second CPD presidential debate featured a town hall format in which voters, either present at the debate or via the internet, posed questions on a topic of their choice. The format of the single vice presidential debate followed that of the first and third presidential debates, but included questions on all topics, with shorter response and discussion periods compared to the presidential debates.
Participants The Republican nominees were Senator John McCain, and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The Democratic nominees were Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. The debates were 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 it was "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. On August 18, 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.
Criticism
A Zogby International poll released on August 15, 2008, indicated that more than 50% of Democratic and Republican voters would like to see Libertarian Party nominee 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 independent candidate Ralph Nader included.Zogby Poll: Majority Want Libertarian Bob Barr Included in Presidential Debates , www.Zogby.com
September 26: First presidential debate (University of Mississippi)
The first presidential debate between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama took place on Friday, September 26, 2008, at University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The debate was moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS.
Although the debate was originally planned to focus on foreign policy and national security, due to the Great Recession Lehrer devoted the first half of the debate to discuss economic issues. 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.Obama, McCain claim victory after debate - Yahoo! News
Reception An estimated 52.4 million people watched the debate.McCain-Obama debate draws 52.4 million viewers 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. Initial CNN polling reported Obama won the debate overall by a margin of 51–38. A CBS poll of uncommitted voters showed Obama winning 39–24, with 37% of voters undecided. Times Mark Halperin graded Obama's performance an A− and McCain's performance a B−. One analyst, Nate Silver, gave greater emphasis to the fact that Obama spoke more effectively about the issues that mattered most to the voters,Nate Silver, "Why Voters Thought Obama Won,"FiveThirtyEight.com, September 27, 2008 . an interpretation that was supported by Time commentator Joe Klein.Joe Klein, "Next Day Thoughts," September 27, 2008 .
Several pollsters noted in the subsequent week that the public's perception of the debate might have been influenced by John McCain not looking at, or directly talking to his opponent during the debate, something many considered disrespectful.
Proposed postponement On September 24, 2008, 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.Bumiller, Elisabeth and Jeff Zeleny "First Debate Up in Air as McCain Puts Off Politicking" The New York Times September 24, 2008. Retrieved on September 24, 2008 The reason given for the proposed postponement was so that McCain and Obama could return to Washington, D.C., in order to work on a legislative response to the 2008 financial crisis. 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."Obama, Barack "In Their Own Words: The Debate Dispute" The New York Times September 24, 2008. Retrieved on September 24, 2008. A McCain adviser suggested replacing the vice presidential debate with the first presidential debates and postponing the VP debates to an unspecified later date. Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, Robert Khayat, proposed that Obama hold a townhall meeting with the audience if McCain failed to appear. 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. Three days later, however, the House of Representatives defeated the bailout proposal.
October 2: Vice presidential debate (Washington University in St. Louis)
The only vice presidential debate between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden took place on Thursday, October 3, 2008, at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill of PBS.Presidential Debate Moderators Set: PBS Gets Two, ABC Shut Out, Lehrer, Brokaw, Schieffer, Ifill Get The Call The Huffington Post, August 5, 2008 It was the first such debate to feature a female candidate since the 1984 vice presidential debate. The debate was watched by about 70 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most-watched vice presidential debate in history. It was only the second presidential or vice presidential debate to surpass 70 million viewers, the first being the 1980 presidential debate between Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter, which drew nearly 81 million viewers.
Venue 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."Washington State University passed on vice presidential debate ", Associated Press, November 21, 2007. In November 2007 it was announced that Washington University in St. Louis would be the venue for the debate.
Debate The first 90-minute presidential debate was divided into nine 3-minute issue segments, allowing the candidates to discuss selected topics, answer follow-ups from a moderator and directly address each other. The vice-presidential debate format followed that of the first presidential debate, but included questions on all topics and had shorter response and discussion periods.
The two candidates had never met before, which was part of the build-up to the debate. Palin said on one of her stump speeches before the debate, "I've never met [Biden] before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade." After moderator Gwen Ifill introduced the candidates, where they came out, Palin asked Biden, "Can I call you Joe?" He replied affirmatively. She said at one point, "I may not answer the questions the way the moderator and you want to hear." Critics said she was avoiding the debate itself, while her supporters could make the claim that she was answering the questions to "Joe six-pack" or "hockey moms". She used her inexperience to her advantage by saying, "It's so obvious that I'm a Washington outsider and not used to the ways you guys operate."
Palin spoke in greatest depth about energy policy while Biden spoke in greatest depth about foreign affairs. Biden refrained from criticizing Palin, concentrating his criticisms on McCain. Although Palin offered brief criticism of Biden, she concentrated most of her criticism on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Whereas Biden defended against Palin's criticisms of Obama, Palin tended not to offer detailed defenses against Biden's criticisms of Republican nominee John McCain and the George W. Bush administration, emphasizing instead generalizations about McCain and Palin's plans to reform the ways of Washington. Biden let it be known that he thought at one time McCain was a "maverick," but that is no longer the case.
During the debate, Palin talked about a potential surge strategy in Afghanistan and identified the commanding general there as "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 David D. McKiernan.
At the end Biden talked about when his wife and daughter died and his sons were injured. He said "The notion that somehow, because I'm a man, I don't know what it's like to raise two kids alone, I don't know what it's like to have a child you're not sure is going to – is going to make it – I understand [...]." Palin did not react to this, instead returning to her campaign's platform.baltimoresun.com
Reception