The 2012 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 2012 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 Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney 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, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.Little, Morgan (July 25, 2012) "Presidential debate formats announced, feature town hall", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
The CPD stipulates three criteria for eligibility: constitutionally eligible, appearance on enough ballots to potentially reach 270 electoral votes, and average at least 15% on five selected national polls. Obama and Romney satisfied all requirements to participate. The moderators for the debates were announced on August 13, 2012.Byers, Dylan (August 13, 2012) "Presidential Debate Moderators Announced", Politico. Retrieved August 13, 2012.Blake, Aaron (August 13, 2012) "Presidential debate moderators announced: Crowley is first woman in 20 years", The Washington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
All four debates took place between 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. EDT. Subsequently, on October 3, both campaigns executed a memorandum of understanding governing technical and administrative details of the debate. The agreement describes the role of the moderator, rules applicable to each debate, staging and seating arrangements, and ticket distribution, and was signed by Robert Bauer and Benjamin Ginsberg, general counsel of the Obama and Romney campaigns, respectively.
Several non-CPD sanctioned debates among third party candidates took place. The first, moderated by Larry King and organized by the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, took place on October 23 between Rocky Anderson, Virgil Goode, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein. Stein and Johnson were selected using instant-runoff voting for a second Free and Equal debate, which was hosted by RT and took place on November 5. Ralph Nader hosted and moderated a debate between Anderson, Stein, Goode, and Johnson on November 4.
Debate schedule 2012 United States presidential election debates Date & Time Host Location Moderator ParticipantsKey: Participant. Non-invitee. PresidentBarack Obamaof Illinois GovernorMitt Romneyof Massachusetts Wednesday October 3, 2012, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT University of Denver Denver, Colorado Jim Lehrer of PBS Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Hofstra University Hempstead, New York Candy Crowley of CNN Monday, October 22, 2012, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Lynn University Boca Raton, Florida Bob Scheiffer of CBS 2012 United States vice presidential debate Date & Time Host Location Moderator ParticipantsKey: Participant. Non-invitee. Vice PresidentJoe Bidenof Delaware CongressmanPaul Ryanof Wisconsin Thursday, October 11, 2012, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT Centre College Danville, Kentucky Martha Raddatz of ABC
First presidential debate (domestic policy) Wednesday, October 3; Magness Arena, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado Moderator: Jim Lehrer – PBS Video: C-SPAN, BBC, YouTube Transcripts: CPD, CNN, NPR w/audio, Washington Post, LA Times, The New York Times Fact-checking: FactCheck.org, Washington Post
Vice presidential (domestic and foreign policy) Thursday, October 11; Norton Center for the Arts, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky Moderator: Martha Raddatz – ABC Video: C-SPAN, BBC, YouTube Transcripts: CPD, , NPR w/audio, Washington Post Fact-checking: FactCheck.org, PolitiFact.com, Washington Post
Second presidential debate (town hall format) Tuesday, October 16; David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York Moderator: Candy Crowley – CNN Video: C-SPAN, BBC, YouTube Transcripts: CPD, CNN, NPR w/audio, McClatchy, Washington Post Fact-checking: Boston.com, FactCheck.org, Politico, PolitiFact.com, The New York Times, The Washington Post
IVN.us online presidential debate (third party) Thursday, October 18; Google+ hangout Moderator: Stephen Peace - IVN.us Video: YouTube
Third presidential debate (foreign policy) Monday, October 22; Wold Performing Arts Center, Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida Moderator: Bob Schieffer – CBS Video: C-SPAN, BBC, YouTube Transcripts: CPD, CNN, NPR w/audio, McClatchy, Washington Post Fact-checking: Boston.com, FactCheck.org, Politico, PolitiFact.com, The New York Times, The Washington Post
First Free and Equal Elections Foundation debate (third party) Tuesday, October 23; Hilton Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Moderator: Larry King – Ora.TV Video: C-SPAN, Fact-checking: The Washington Post
Ralph Nader presidential debate (third party) Sunday, November 4; Busboys and Poets, Washington, D.C. Moderator: Ralph Nader Video:
October 3: First presidential debate (University of Denver)
Format According to the memorandum of understanding agreed to by both campaigns prior to the debate, and announced to the public prior to the start, both candidates would have no opening statement. There were six 15-minute segments, with the moderator introducing a topic and giving one candidate two minutes, the other candidate two minutes, and approximately 8 minutes and 45 seconds of facilitated discussion between the two candidates, with both candidates receiving approximately equal time. However, due to candidate responses extending beyond the limit, the last few segments were markedly shorter. Both candidates spoke in front of a lectern. Other than applause at the beginning and end of the debate, there was no audience participation.
The segments were on the economy and job creation, the federal deficit, entitlements and differences between the candidates on Social Security, health care and the Affordable Care Act, the role and mission of the federal government of the United States, and governing in a presidential system and dealing with gridlock.
Reception More than 67 million Americans watched the debate, making it the most widely viewed first presidential debate in 32 years. A CBS poll of uncommitted voters found that 46% thought that Romney had done better, 22% thought Obama had done better, and 32% thought that it was a tie. A CNN poll found a greater advantage for Romney among debate watchers overall, with 67% believing the former Massachusetts governor had done better, 25% believing that the president had done better, and 8% believing that it was a tie. A Gallup poll found that 72% of the debate watchers believed Romney was the clear winner, 20% believed that Obama had won, and 9% believed it was a tie or had no opinion; the widest margin of victory for any presidential debate in Gallup history.Jones, Jeffrey M. (October 8, 2012) "Romney Narrows Vote Gap After Historic Debate Win", Gallup.com. Time magazines Joe Klein stated, "It was, in fact, one of the most inept performances I've ever seen by a sitting President."
The primary critiques of Obama's performance were that he looked detached; seldom addressed his opponent directly; and was often looking down while Romney was speaking.
Several independent fact checkers noted that a number of factual discrepancies were found in various statements made by both Obama and Romney in the debate. The Houston Chronicle reported that its "study of post-debate reports from factcheck.org, politifact.com, CBS, CNN, The Washington Post, and Politico found that both Obama and Romney stretched the facts [in the debate]. But Obama did it a little less."
Moderation The performance of Jim Lehrer as the moderator was widely criticized for frequently allowing the candidates to speak over their time limits.Paul Harris: Jim Lehrer: was TV moderator the debate's big loser? The Guardian, October 4, 2012 He said that he intended to have a looser format and was not trying to restrict the candidates.
Fox News wrote, "The only consolation President Barack Obama had for his poor showing during Wednesday's debate was that moderator Jim Lehrer did even worse."Dan Gainor. "Jim Lehrer is biggest loser in Denver debate". Fox News, October 3, 2012. Dan Abrams of ABC News tweeted, "Regardless of who is winning this debate, Jim Lehrer is losing".Russell Goldman. "Jim Lehrer Biggest Loser in Debate?". ABC News, April 10, 2012.
Lehrer defended his performance saying, "I've always said this and finally I had a chance to demonstrate it: The moderator should be seen little and heard even less. It is up to the candidates to ask the follow-up questions and challenge one another." Unlike many others, both Romney and Obama made favorable remarks about Lehrer.
October 11: Vice presidential debate (Centre College)
Format The only vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan focused on domestic and foreign policy, and was broken down into nine 10-minute segments. The foreign policy segments included questions on the attack on the American consulate in Libya, Iran, the civil war in Syria, and Afghanistan. The domestic policy segments included questions on health care, abortion, the national debt, Social Security, Medicare, and taxes.
Reception A CBS poll of uncommitted voters found that 50% of those viewers thought Biden did better, 31% thought Ryan did better, and 19% thought they tied. A Reuters poll indicated Biden the superior candidate, 42% to 35% with 23% undecided or believing they tied. A CNN poll of debate watchers found that 48% of viewers believed Ryan had done better, 44% believed Biden had done better, and 8% believed they tied or had no opinion; CNN noted that the debate audience polled was about eight percentage points more Republican than the general population. Nate Silver's analysis of polling after the debate led to his concluding that, though both debaters performed adequately, Biden's performance helped to slow the momentum of the Romney campaign following the first presidential debate.Nate Silver, "In Polls, Biden Gets a Hold", 538 Blog, The New York Times, October 12, 2012, accessed October 13, 2012
The debate was watched by over 51 million people, making it the third most-watched vice presidential debate, behind that of 1984 (57 million) and 2008 (70 million)."VP debate ratings can’t match Biden-Palin from 2008", The Washington Post, October 12, 2012
Moderation Raddatz was generally praised for her moderation during this debate. Sarah Palin, the former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, criticized her for being too "tough" on Paul Ryan.
October 16: Second presidential debate (Hofstra University)
The second presidential debate took place on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at New York's Hofstra University, and was moderated by Candy Crowley of CNN. The debate followed a town hall format, with a group of noncommitted voters asking questions to the candidates, after which the moderator would ask follow-up questions.
The second debate dealt primarily with domestic affairs, but, unlike the first debate, did include some segues into foreign policy. Topics discussed included taxes, unemployment, job creation, the national debt, energy and energy independence, women's rights, both legal and illegal immigration, and the recent attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Format