Poynter Online - Links to the News

Newsday, October 16, 2008
Newseum Image

October 16, 2008: An excerpt from a story in Newsday:

Too little, too late for McCain

By CRAIG GORDON

It took three debates, but John McCain finally found a voice Wednesday night to land some attacks on Barack Obama and pitch his own candidacy without coming off as too mean or too angry.

But McCain's problem at Hofstra University was clear -- he needed a solid performance like this to win over voters in the first debate, not the last, when Obama is showing signs of pulling away from McCain in the national polls.

In short, it just looked like too little, too late.

McCain scored points when he argued Obama would raise taxes and wage "class warfare." He accused him of breaking his word to the American people on public financing for his campaign.

He even delivered the single-best sound-bite of the debates so far, sure to be replayed over and over again on TV on Thursday and pound home a message McCain wants voters to hear: "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush."

Even those small wins were hardly enough to change the contours of a race that feels more every day like Obama's to lose -- that vaunted "game-changer" that is almost impossible to score against a cool and composed debater like Obama, who simply hasn't made a major mistake in any of the debates.

So it's doubtful that anything that McCain said or did Wednesday night was enough to shake loose many voters who've already decided to back Obama, and those recent-deciding voters are more than enough to turn a 47-year-old senator from Illinois into a history-making President Barack Obama.

Video: Obama / McCain Debate (MSNBC)
October 15, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com

________________________________________________

The Tennessean, October 8, 2008
Newseum Image

October 8, 2008: An excerpt from a story in The Tennessean:

Economy rules Nashville debate
Candidates repeat their main themes

By BILL THEOBALD

Democrat Barack Obama promoted his plans to invest billions in federal spending to boost the failing economy during Tuesday night's presidential debate, while Republican John McCain said tax cuts and tightening federal spending are the cure to what has become the central issue in the campaign's final weeks.

The 90-minute town hall forum at Belmont University's Curb Event Center was tepid compared with the pre-debate hype that McCain would attack Obama's character and Obama would respond in kind.

Instead of going on the attack, the two repeated themes they have sounded throughout the campaign in response to questions submitted to debate organizers and those asked by a selection of 80 uncommitted Middle Tennessee voters who joined the candidates on the stage. And at times, it was Obama who was the more aggressive in his jabs at McCain.

"We are in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," Obama said in response to the first question. "This is a final verdict on the economic policies of the last eight years."

"Americans are angry, upset and a little fearful," McCain said on a day when the Dow Jones industrial average hit its lowest level in five years.

Video: Obama / McCain Debate (MSNBC)
October 7, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com

______________________________________________

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2008
Newseum Image

October 3, 2008: An excerpt from a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

They hit their marks

By JO MANNIES

Vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden spent most of their time defending or attacking the two men at the top of their tickets � John McCain and Barack Obama � in a 90-minute debate Thursday night touted as a potential game-changer.

Whether the Biden-Palin confrontation will live up to its billing as the most consequential vice presidential debate in history may not be known for days, when analysts and public opinion polls weigh in.

Immediately after the debate, aides and activists in both camps praised their candidate's performance. Observers agreed that both avoided the kind of major gaffe that can send approval ratings plummeting.

Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska, repeatedly emphasized McCain's promise to keep most of the current federal income tax breaks in place, while challenging Obama's promise to raise taxes only on people who earn more than $250,000 a year.

Palin said Obama would end up hiking taxes on far more Americans.

Biden, a veteran U.S. senator from Delaware and a Democrat, defended Obama's tax proposals while hammering at McCain's plan to tax employer-provided health insurance and give families an annual $5,000 tax credit to buy their own coverage.

Biden said McCain's health-insurance plan amounted to a tax increase on many Americans and would leave millions of them without insurance coverage. Palin disagreed.

Video: Palin / Biden Debate (MSNBC)
October 2, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com

____________________________________________

First Presidential Debate
University of Mississippi, Oxford (September 26, 2008)
Moderator: Jim Lehrer, PBS

Vice Presidential Debate
Washington University, St. Louis (October 2, 2008)
Moderator: Gwen Ifill, PBS

Second Presidential Debate
Belmont University, Nashville (October 7, 2008)
Moderator: Tom Brokaw, NBC

Third Presidential Debate
Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y. (October 15, 2008)
Moderator: Bob Schieffer, CBS

____________________________________________

<i>Northeast Mississippi Journal</i>, Sept. 27, 2008

Northeast Mississippi Journal
Sept. 27, 2008, Newseum Image

September 27, 2008: An excerpt from a story in the Northeast Mississippi Journal:

The World Watches
In Oxford Debate, Candidates Spar Over War and Taxes

By BETH FOUHY (Associated Press)

OXFORD, Miss. -- John McCain accused Barack Obama of compiling "the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate" tonight in the first debate of their close campaign for the White House. The Democrat shot back, "Mostly that's just me opposing George Bush's wrong-headed policies."

Obama said his Republican rival has been a loyal supporter of the unpopular president across the past eight years, adding that the current economic crisis is "a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by President Bush and supported by Sen. McCain."

The two men clashed over spending, taxes, energy and -- at length -- the war in Iraq during their 90-minute debate.

McCain accused his younger rival of an "incredible thing of voting to cut off funds for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan," a reference to legislation that cleared the Senate more than a year ago.

Obama disputed that, saying he had opposed funding in a bill that presented a "blank check" to the Pentagon while McCain had opposed money in legislation that included a timetable for troop withdrawal.

Obama opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2002, before he was a member of Congress, while McCain voted in the Senate to authorize the war.

"You were wrong" on Iraq, Obama repeated three times in succession. "John, you like to pretend the war began in 2007."

McCain replied that Obama has refused to acknowledge the success of the troop buildup in Iraq that McCain recommended and Bush announced more than a year ago.

The 47-year-old Obama is seeking to become the nation's first black president. McCain, 72, is hoping to become the oldest first-term chief executive in history -- and he made a few jokes at his own expense.

Video: Obama / McCain Debate (MSNBC)
September 26, 2008
http://www.msnbc.msn.com

_______________________________________

Democratic Debate
(April 16, 2008)

<i>The Philadelphia Inquirer</i>, April 17, 2008

The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17, 2008
Newseum Image

April 17, 2008: An excerpt from a story in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

A tense bid to sway Pa. voters

By LARRY EICHEL

Debating in Philadelphia last night, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sparred over each other's electability and the political weaknesses that might make them vulnerable to Republican attack in the fall.

In a tense and grim encounter, the two Democrats were led by their questioners through the words of Obama's former pastor, Clinton's misrepresentation of her visit to Bosnia as first lady, and the links of both presidential contenders to former members of a radical group from decades past.

The candidates also dealt with matters of greater substance, including foreign policy, taxes, Social Security and gun control.

They voiced general agreement on most of those topics, as they have done throughout the race, with both expressing confidence that they could proceed with a relatively rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq no matter what the circumstances on the ground there.

Democratic Debate
(Feb. 26, 2008)

<i>The Plain Dealer</i>, February 27, 2008

The Plain Dealer, February 27, 2008
Newseum Image

February 27, 2008: An excerpt from a story in the Cleveland newspaper, The Plain Dealer:

Clinton-Obama debate at Cleveland State focuses on health care, Iraq and free trade

By PATRICK O'DONNELL

The two Democratic candidates for president, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, faced off Tuesday night in their last showdown before Ohio's primary next week, each challenging the other's records while highlighting the small differences in their approaches to health care, the Iraq war and free trade.

Clinton and Obama debated for 90 minutes at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center. Skipping opening and closing remarks, they fielded questions from NBC broadcasters Brian Williams and Tim Russert the entire time.

Twice Clinton had more of an issue with Russert than her opponent, once suggesting he was taking an easy approach to him and once accusing him of straying into hypothetical, not real, issues.

Though the candidates disagreed on several issues, they both praised the other at the debate's close while saying they would do a better job as president.

"The reason I think I'm better as the nominee is that I can bring this country together," Obama said. "I think in a unique way, across divisions of race, religion, region. And that is what's going to be required in order for us to actually deliver on the issues that both Sen. Clinton and I care so much about."

Democratic Debate
(Feb. 21, 2008)
Democratic Debate
(Jan. 31, 2008)
Republican Debate
(Jan. 30, 2008)
Republican Debate
(Jan. 24, 2008)
Democratic Debate
(Jan. 21, 2008)
Democratic Debate
(Jan. 15, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Jan. 10, 2008)
Republican Debate
(Jan. 6, 2008)
Democratic Debate
(Jan. 5, 2008)
Republican Debate
(Jan. 5, 2008)
Democratic Debate
(Dec. 13, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Dec. 12, 2007)

Republican Debate
(Dec. 9, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Dec. 4, 2007)

Republican Debate
(Nov. 28, 2007)

<i>St. Petersburg Times</i>, November 29, 2007

St. Petersburg Times, November 29, 2007
Newseum Image

November 29, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the St. Petersburg Times:

Stretch run starts here

By WES ALLISON

Never mind the niceties.

Barely five minutes into the Republican presidential debate Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Rudy Giuliani and his self-appointed foil, Mitt Romney, were tussling over which of them coddled illegal immigrants more.

Then Romney got into it with Mike Huckabee, suggesting he was even worse for trying to help the children of illegal immigrants go to college.

And during the segment when candidates aired their own campaign commercials, Fred Thompson's spot said nothing about Fred Thompson: Instead, it hit Romney for once supporting abortion rights and Huckabee for raising taxes when he was governor of Arkansas.

"What's up with that?" moderator Anderson Cooper asked Thompson.

Thompson shrugged innocently.

"I wanted to give my buddies here a little extra air time," Thompson drawled. "What do you mean, What's up with it? These are their words."

And that was all before the first commercial break.

Democratic Debate
(Nov. 15, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Oct. 30, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Oct. 21, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Oct. 16, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Oct. 9, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Sept. 27, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Sept. 26, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Sept. 20, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Sept. 17, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Sept. 12, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(Sept. 9, 2007)
Republican Debate
(Sept. 5, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(August 19, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(August 9, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(August 7, 2007)
Republican Debate
(August 5, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(August 4, 2007)

Democratic Debate
(July 23, 2007)

<i>The Post and Courier</i>, July 24, 2007

The Post and Courier, July 24, 2007
Newseum Image

July 24, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Charleston, South Carolina newspaper, The Post and Courier:

Democrats.com

By ROBERT BEHRE

All eight Democratic presidential candidates on Monday came to The Citadel to answer 40 videotaped questions submitted by ordinary Americans on everything from slavery reparations, military-style weapons and gay marriage, as well as the larger issues that have dominated the campaign so far.

The two-hour debate, aired live on CNN, was historic not only because it was the first ever held in Charleston but also because its questions were sent in via the video Web site YouTube.com, marking an unprecedented use of the Internet on the presidential debate stage.

The questions came from people of all ages and ilks. Sheena Currell, a young student from Blythewood, asked candidates who their favorite teacher was, and a talking snowman in Minneapolis said, "I've been growing concerned that global warming, the single most important issue to the snowmen of this country, is being neglected."

Democratic Debate
(July 12, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(June 28, 2007)
Republican Debate
(June 5, 2007)
Democratic Debate
(June 3, 2007)
Republican Debate
(May 15, 2007)

Republican Debate
(May 3, 2007)

Ventura County Star, May 4, 2007
Newseum Image

May 4, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the California newspaper, the Ventura County Star:

10 favor rekindling Reagan spirit

By TIMM HERDT

In a wide-ranging, fast-paced debate, the 10 Republicans who want to be the next president offered a unanimous view of past presidents Thursday evening at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum: They want to rekindle the spirit of Reagan, and they don't even want to think about a possible return of the Clinton family to the White House.

The current occupant received mixed reviews.

"What we can borrow from Ronald Reagan, since we are in his library, is that great sense of optimism," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. "You lead from optimism. You lead from hope."

When asked by moderator Chris Matthews whether it would "be good for America" to have Bill Clinton back in the White House if Sen. Hillary Clinton were to win in the fall, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave a startled response: "You've got to be kidding."

Arizona Sen. John McCain, asked what he would have done differently from President Bush, asserted, "I would not have mismanaged the war. It was badly mismanaged for four years."

But the central issue was not presidents past or present, but who would be the best Republican nominee to be the future president.

Democratic Debate
(April 26, 2007)

The State, April 27, 2007
Newseum Image

April 27, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, The State:

Democrats spar in S.C.

By AARON GOULD SHEININ

ORANGEBURG -- The front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination mostly played it safe during Thursday's first-in-the-nation presidential debate, allowing a couple of second-tier candidates -- Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- to shine.

The war in Iraq and gun control dominated the debate, held at S.C. State University.

Thursday night was the first time the eight candidates had appeared together on stage. It is the kickoff to a weekend of events that has South Carolina in the center of the presidential campaign universe.

2004 Presidential Debates

2004 Presidential Debate -- University of Miami
(September 30, 2004)
http://www.miami.edu/debate04/

2004 Vice-Presidential Debate --
Case Western Reserve University
(October 5, 2004 )
http://www.cwru.edu/vpdebate/

2004 Presidential Debate -- Washington University
(October 8, 2004)
http://debate.wustl.edu/2004/

2004 Presidential Debate -- Arizona State University
(October 13, 2004)
http://web.archive.org/web/20041019005844/
http://www.asu.edu/debate/

C-SPAN coverage of the 2004 debates
http://www.c-span.org

Washington Post coverage of the 2004 debates
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

CNN coverage of the 2004 debates
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/debates/

United State Presidential Election Debates, 2004 (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election_debates

Video: Excerpt of Bush/Kerry Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQAoKL7EBY

2000 Presidential Debates

2000 Presidential Debates (C-Span)
http://web.archive.org/web/20001117063608/
http://www.c-span.org/campaign2000/presdebates.asp

2000 Presidential Debate -- Washington University
(October 17, 2000)
http://debate.wustl.edu/2000/

2000 Presidential Debate -- Wake Forest University (CPD)
(October 11, 2000)
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000b.html

2000 Vice-Presidential Debate -- Centre College (CPD)
(October 5, 2000)
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000d.html

2000 Presidential Debate -- University of Massachusetts (CPD)
(October 3, 2000)
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000a.html

1996 Presidential Debates

1996 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1996.html

1996 Presidential Debate (AllPolitics)
http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/

1996 Vice-Presidential Debate -- St. Petersburg, FL (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans96c.html

1996 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1996-broadcast.html

Video: Excerpt of Clinton/Dole Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Up1kwoWSTk

Video: Excerpt of Gore/Kemp
Vice Presidential Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c-vXRDHk6Y

1992 Presidential Debates

1992 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1992.html

1992 Presidential Debate -- Michigan State University
http://web.archive.org/web/20030415011231/
http://web.msu.edu/debate/debate.html

1992 Presidential Debate -- University of Richmond
http://park.org/Events/Debates/presdeb3.html

1992 Presidential Debate -- Washington University
http://debate.wustl.edu/1992-96/Record/record.html

1992 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1992/

1992 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1992-broadcast.html

Video: Excerpt of Bush/Clinton/Perot Debate (YouTube)
Example One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-W4GWjN2kg

Video: Excerpt of Bush/Clinton/Perot Debate (YouTube)
Example Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ffbFvKlWqE

Video: Excerpt of Quayle/Gore/Stockdale
Vice Presidential Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7gpgXNWYI

1988 Presidential Debates

1988 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1988.html

1988 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1988-broadcast.html

1988 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1988/

1988 Vice-Presidential Debate -- Omaha, NE (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans88c.html

Video: Excerpt of Bush/Dukakis Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF9gSyku-fc

Video: Excerpt of Quayle/Bentsen
Vice Presidential Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRCWbFFRpnY

1984 Presidential Debates

1984 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1984.html

1984 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1984-broadcast.html

1984 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1984/

Video: Excerpt of Reagan/Mondale Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPu1UIBkBc

Video: Excerpt of Bush/Ferraro
Vice Presidential Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw4-1E4ooX0

1980 Presidential Debates

Video: Excerpt of Carter/Reagan Debate (YouTube)
October 28, 1980
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px7aRIhUkHY

1980 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1980.html

1980 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1980-broadcast.html

1980 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1980/

1976 Presidential Debates

1976 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1976.html

1976 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1976-broadcast.html

1976 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1976/

Video: Excerpt of Ford/Carter Debate (YouTube)
Example One (They lost their audio for 27 minutes.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrP5ZM0otP8

Video: Excerpt of Ford/Carter Debate (YouTube)
Example Two
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8rg9c4pUrg

Video: Excerpt of Dole/Mondale
Vice Presidential Debate (YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G9AePwl1AE

1960 Presidential Debates

Video: Excerpt of Nixon/Kennedy Debate (YouTube)
September 26, 1960
Moderator: Howard K. Smith, CBS News
Panelists: Sander Vanocur, NBC News; Charles Warren, Mutual News; Stuart Novins, CBS,
Bob Fleming, ABC News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QazmVHAO0os

Audio: Nixon/Kennedy Debate (Internet Archive)
September 26, 1960
http://www.archive.org/

Video: Excerpt of Nixon/Kennedy Debate (YouTube)
October 21, 1960
Moderator: Quincy Howe, ABC News
Panelists: Frank Singiser, Mutual News; John Edwards, ABC News; Walter Cronkite, CBS News; John Chancellor, NBC News, Bob Flemming, ABC News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jznAJySwkmM

1960 Presidential Debates (CPD)
http://www.debates.org/pages/his_1960.html

1960 Presidential Debates
(Debating Our Destiny, PBS)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/
debatingourdestiny/dod/1960-broadcast.html

1960 Presidential Debates
(Museum of Broadcast Communications)
http://museum.tv/debateweb/html/greatdebate/

1960 Presidential Debates (Kennedy Library)
http://web.archive.org/web/20000831022256/
http://www.jfklibrary.org/debates-1960.html

1960 Presidential Debates (Smithsonian)
http://web.archive.org/web/19970503200640/
http://www.si.edu/i+d/debate.arc.html

1960 Presidential Debates (AllPolitics)
http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/

<i>St. Petersburg Times</i>, Sept. 27, 1960

St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 27, 1960
Image courtesy of the St. Petersburg Times

September 27, 1960: An excerpt from a story in the St. Petersburg Times:

2 Candidates Clash as Millions Watch

CHICAGO (UPI) -- Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy came to grips in an unprecedented face to face debate last night on the issue of how to keep the United States strong enough to withstand the threat of Communist Russia.

....An estimated 60 to 100 million Americans -- half the nation's population -- tuned in their television sets and radio stations on modern history's first head-on debate between the two major candidates for president of the United States.

....The eyes of the nation and of the world were on these two comparatively young men last night as they sat before their lecterns in a Columbia Broadcasting System studio.

After time ran out and the battery of television lights went off, Nixon said "time went awfully fast." "It was a good, sharp exchange of views," he said.

"A very useful exchange of views," Kennedy agreed.

1956 Primary Debate (May 21, 1956)

The Florida Democratic presidential primary debate between former Gov. Adlai Stevenson, D-Ill. and former Sen. Estes Kefauver, D-Tenn. took place in Miami. Quincy Howe of ABC News served as the moderator.

1948 Primary Debate (May 17, 1948)

The Oregon Republican presidential primary debate between Gov. Thomas Dewey, R-New York and former Gov. Harold Stassen, R-Minn. took place at radio station KEX-ABC in Portland.

Additional Resources

C-SPAN Debate Hub
http://debatehub.c-span.org/

The Presidential Debate Blog
http://presidentialdebateblog.blogspot.com/

Video: Highs and Lows of Past Debates (ABC News, 2008)
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5889254

Reviewing the Presidential Debates Since 1960 (CNN, 2008)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/25/debate.polls/

NPR Coverage of Presidential Debates
http://www.npr.org/search.php?text=presidential+debates

Past Presidential Debates in History (BBC, 2008)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7633083.stm

History of Televised Presidential Debates
(Museum of Broadcast Communications)
http://www.museum.tv/debateweb/html/index.htm

United State Presidential Election Debates (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election_debates

Historic Debates (C-SPAN)
http://www.c-span.org/classroom/govt/debateshistory.asp

Presidential Debates (American Presidency Project)
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/debates.php

History of Presidential Debates: Before Television (PBS, Now, 2004)
and
The History of Presidential Debates: The Televised Years
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/debatehistory.html

Presidential Debates in the Broadcast Era -- before 1960 (CNN, 2001)
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/debates/history.story/intro3.html

Presidential Debates History (CNN, 2000)
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/debates/history/

Debating Our Destiny (PBS, 2000)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/

How Presidential Debates Work (HowStuffWorks)
http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/debate.htm

Commission on Presidential Debates
http://www.debates.org/

1858 Lincoln-Douglas Illinois Senate Debates

Image courtesy of the KHS collection

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (National Park Service)
http://www.nps.gov/liho/debates.htm

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (C-SPAN)
http://www.c-span.org/lincoln200years/
Debate 1, Debate 2, Debate 3
Debate 4, Debate 5, Debate 6, Debate 7

Lincoln's 1858 Newspaper Clips Scrapbook (Example Two)
(Library of Congress)
From LOC Web site: "Candidate Abraham Lincoln assembled this scrapbook of news accounts reporting the seven debates between himself and Senator Stephen Douglas for the Illinois seat in the 1858 U.S. Senate campaign. Recognizing that the partisan nature of the press could lead to inaccuracies, Lincoln had his speeches clipped from newspapers sympathetic to the Republican Party and the speeches of Douglas clipped from the Democratic press. Lincoln occasionally made notes in the margins when he felt the reportage required changes or comment."

BOOKS

Anderson, John B. A Proper Institution:
Guaranteeing Televised Presidential Debate.
New York: Priority Press Publications, 1988.

Bishop, George F., Robert G. Meadow,
and Marilyn Jackson-Beeck, eds.
The Presidential Debates: Media, Electoral,
and Policy Perspectives.
New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978.

Bitzer, Lloyd and Theodore Rueter.
Carter vs. Ford: The Counterfeit Debates of 1976.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1980.

Carlin, Diana B. and Mitchell S. McKinney, eds.
The 1992 Presidential Debates in Focus.
Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 1994.

Friedenberg, Robert V. Rhetorical Studies
of National Political Debates 1960-1992.
Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1994.

Hellweg, Susan A. and Michael Pfau, Steven R. Bryon.
Televised Presidential Debates:
Advocacy in Contemporary America.
New York: Praeger, 1992.

Hinck, Edward A. Enacting the Presidency:
Political Argument, Presidential Debates,
and Presidential Character.
Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1993.

Holzer, Harold, ed., The Lincoln-Douglas Debates:
The First Complete Unexpurgated Text.
New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, and David S. Birdsell.
Presidential Debates:
The Challenge of Creating an Informed Electorate.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Kraus, Sidney, ed. The Great Debates:
Carter vs. Ford, 1976.
Bloomington, IA.: Indiana University Press, 1979.

Kraus, Sidney, ed. The Great Debates:
Kennedy vs. Nixon, 1960.
Bloomington, IA.: Indiana University Press, 1962.

Kraus, Sidney. Televised Presidential Debates
and Public Policy.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000.

Lanoue, David J. and Peter R. Schrott.
The Joint Press Conference:
The History, Impact, and Prospects of
American Presidential Debates.
Westport: Greenwood Press, 1991.

Lemert, James B., et al. News Verdicts,
the Debates, and Presidential Campaigns.
New York: Praeger, 1991.

Martel, Myles. Political Campaign Debates:
Images, Strategies, and Tactics.
New York: Longman and Company, 1983.

Minow, Newton N. and Craig L. LaMay.
Inside the Presidential Debates.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Minow, Newton N. and Clifford M. Sloan. For Great Debates:
A New Plan for Future Presidential TV Debates.
A Twentieth Century Fund Paper.
New York: Priority Press Publications, 1987.

Ranney, Austin. The Past and Future of Presidential Debates .
Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1979.

Schroeder, Alan. Presidental Debates:
Forty Years of High-Risk TV.
New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Swerdlow, Joel L., ed. Presidential Debates 1988 and Beyond.
Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1987.

Twentieth Century Fund. Let America Decide:
the Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force
on Presidential Debates.
With a Background Paper by Anthony Corrado.
New York: The Twentieth Century Fund Press, 1995.

______________________________

(See also: Poynter's Links to the News page,
"Republican & Democratic Convention History (1856-2008).")

Links to the News

Latest Poynter Blogs (See All Blogs)