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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: debates

debates stories: 20 news summaries
radio city showdown

 Clinton, Bush to Debate  

Radio City Music hall will host February event

Nov 3, 09 4:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will debate at Radio City Music Hall early next year. The two former presidents will square off as part of MSG Entertainment’s "Minds That Move the World" series. Topics will include the economy, foreign policy, and the current administration. Tickets start at... More »

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New York • Bill Clinton • debate • debates • George W. Bush • Radio City Music Hall

pundit roundup

McCain Didn't Manage to Inflict Major Damage

Comeback unlikely for grumpy-seeming Republican

Oct 16, 08 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - The debate last night was all about whether John McCain could pull off a game-changer; while some pundits saw his best debate performance yet, most agreed that he didn't score.
  • Time’s Mark Halperin liked what he saw at first, as McCain "showed off the best of himself—
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • debates • Election 2008

 Schieffer Vows to Get Straight Answers in Debate 

Says he will get tough with both candidates

Oct 15, 08 4:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - CBS veteran broadcaster Bob Schieffer has vowed to stand firm when he moderates the final presidential debate tonight, and will press the candidates to answer questions put to them, Politico reports. Jim Lehrer, Gwen Ifill and Tom Brokaw have come under fire for being too easy on candidates in previous... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • Dan Rather • debates • Election 2008 • Bob Schieffer • Tom Brokaw • Jim Lehrer • Gwen Ifill • moderators • Jeff Greenfield • debate format

OPINION

These Hot-Button Issues Need Pressing in Last Debate

Abortion, Supreme Court among issues ignored in McCain-Obama encounters thus far

Oct 14, 08 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - There's just one debate to go, and a surprising number of "hot buttons have gone unpressed," writes John J. Pitney, Jr. in the National Review. A search of the previous debates' transcripts turned up plenty of topics that demand a visit:
  • Abortion: “So far, nobody has
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • debates • campaign issues • Election 2008 • Bob Schieffer

Water Glasses? Hofstra Sweats the Debate Details

University bends over backwards for debate

Oct 13, 08 10:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hofstra University, the host of Wednesday's final presidential debate, is busy nailing down endless details for the big event, reports Newsday. “Whatever (the campaigns) want, we do,” says university president Stuart Rabinowitz. Such as:
  • They supplied each camp with replicas of the water glasses. “So they
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
debates • Election 2008 • Hofstra University

ANALYSIS

 Town Hall Gives Mac 
 Preferred Platform 

Campaign sees tomorrow's encounter as chance to reroute opinion

Oct 6, 08 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tomorrow’s debate will be the one town-hall-style encounter John McCain gets with Barack Obama, and analysts believe it will be crucial to keeping the presidential race from slipping away, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Republican has a reputation for excelling in the town-hall format, which brings out his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • debates • town hall meeting • Election 2008

UPDATED

 Obama: Friday's Debate  
 Should Go On 

He disagrees with McCain on need for postponement

Sep 24, 08 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama disagrees with John McCain and says "it's more important than ever" to hold the first presidential debate Friday, CNN reports. Obama spoke soon after McCain called for a postponement, announcing that he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington and work on the financial bailout. So... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • debates • Election 2008 • bailout

ANALYSIS

...Takes On Cool, Lecturing Obama

Dem hopeful, a great orator, has struggled one-on-one

Sep 23, 08 2:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama is famous for his soaring set-piece speeches, but his facility with oratory hasn't translated into success in debates, writes John M. Broder in the New York Times. At last month's Saddleback Church forum he sounded every bit the law professor, offering complex, humorless analysis to the sound bites... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • presidential debate • Democratic debate • debates • Election 2008

OPINION

To Win Debates, Go for Snap Over Substance

Postgame video replays matter more than issues

Sep 22, 08 2:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Better theater, not better substance, wins modern presidential debates, writes Michael Tomasky in the Guardian. Pundits will ordain a winner during the spin war that follows each clash—this year's first encounter is Friday—and “the candidate who wins the battle of the clips will be the 72-hour winner.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • Al Gore • debates

(Newser) - The moderators for the three presidential debates have been announced, and none of them are particularly gasp-inducing, the Swamp reports. Tom Brokaw, interim host of Meet the Press, Jim Lehrer, of PBS’ News Hour, and Bob Schieffer of CBS’ Face the Nation, will each host a debate, while... More »

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presidential debate • debates • Meet the Press • host • Bob Schieffer • Tom Brokaw • Jim Lehrer • Gwen Ifill • Face the Nation

 Candidates Spar
 Over Debate
 Schedule 

Obama wants five, McCain wants 13

Jun 13, 08 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Camp Obama and Camp McCain are jousting over debates, with both candidates, New York Times blogger Michael Falcone jokes, appearing to feel “a little rejected.” Obama has suggested five forums: three traditional debates and two town halls, one on the economy and another on foreign policy. A rep... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • debates

analysis

 What Mac
 Doesn't Get
 About Obama

The Republican is underestimating his challenger

Jun 5, 08 12:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mark Halperin writes in Time that John McCain is underestimating several challenges ahead of him:
  • The “astonishing enthusiasm” Obama inspires, compared to the respect McCain enjoys
  • How “major league” Obama’s infrastructure is compared to his own
  • The difficulty of running against Bush and Barack at once.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • debates • George W. Bush

McCain Dares Obama to
10 Informal  Debates

Face-to-face showdowns could echo Lincoln-Douglas, Obama adviser suggests

Jun 4, 08 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain challenged Barack Obama today to fight mano a mano in a series of 10 intimate town-hall meetings between now and the Democratic primary in late August. The Republican's invitation, delivered in a speech and said to be modeled on a proposed Kennedy-Goldwater series, would be “free from... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • John F. Kennedy • Barry Goldwater • Abraham Lincoln • debates • town hall meeting • Stephen Douglas

 Clinton Calls for
 Moderator-Free Debate 

But Obama had ruled out debates before the next primaries

Apr 26, 08 4:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton wants one last debate before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries next month, and she’s ready to do it Lincoln-Douglas style. “After the last debate, Sen. Obama’s supporters complained a little about the tough questions,” Clinton told a crowd in South Bend today. “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Clinton 2008 • Obama 2008 • debates • Indiana primary • North Carolina primary

OPINION

Dem Debate Oddly Like
'SNL' Parody

Clinton sees Barack coddling; NYT writer says she has a case

Feb 27, 08 11:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton was so taken by last week's "Saturday Night Live" sketch that had moderators fawning over Barack Obama in a debate between the two candidates that she brought it up in the real debate last night. And the debate lived up to the SNL spoof, Alessandra Stanley writes... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Vladimir Putin • MSNBC • Tim Russert • debates • Democratic nomination • Brian Williams • political spin • Ohio debate • Alessandra Stanley

McCain Steps Over Gauntlet Huckabee Throws Down

Challenger will go anywhere, do anything

Feb 26, 08 4:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Mike Huckabee wants to debate John McCain, he told a sparsely attended press conference today. Campaign finance laws may make the presumptive nominee “go completely dark between virtually now and the nomination convention,” said Huckabee, who described himself as “disappointed” at the lack of GOP debates, MSNBC... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • campaign finance • Mike Huckabee • debates

Clinton Aims for Obama
in Feisty NH Debate

Candidates look for an edge ahead
of Tuesday's primary

Jan 5, 08 8:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton lit into Barack Obama during a sometimes testy Democratic debate in New Hampshire tonight, seeking to put a few chinks in his armor three days before the state's crucial primary. Clinton criticized Obama's health plan as inadequate and accused him of flip-flopping on key issues, including Iraqi war... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • John Edwards • Bill Richardson • Democratic debate • debates • New Hampshire primary

Mike to Mitt: So Sorry
About Mormon Jab

Candidates make nice; Romney accepts apology

Dec 13, 07 4:47 AM CST
(Newser) - Surging GOP candidate Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney yesterday for having asked a reporter if Mormons believed that Jesus and the Devil are brothers. Huckabee said he apologized after the Republican debate in Iowa, and Romney "graciously" accepted. Earlier this week Romney had slammed Huckabee, a former Baptist... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Mitt Romney • Iowa • religion • Mike Huckabee • Mormonism • debates • Republican candidate

Holocaust Denier Roils Oxford Union

Invitation to debate prompts flurry of protests; MP resigns

Nov 26, 07 11:46 AM CST
(Newser) - A British MP tendered his resignation to the Oxford Union yesterday in protest of the debating society’s invitation to Holocaust denier David Irving and anti-immigration leader Nick Griffin to speak tonight, reports the Telegraph. Julian Lewis, the Conservative Party’s shadow defense minister, said he was “ashamed” of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Holocaust • Oxford • debates • Oxford Union • Julian Lewis • David Irving • Nick Griffin • Luke Tryl

Obama Brushes off Fall Debates

Aug 18, 07 9:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama's campaign declared forum fatigue today, announcing that the presidential hopeful will decline requests to speak at debates and forums for the rest of this fall, beyond those they've already committed to. “Unfortunately, we simply cannot run the kind of campaign we want and need to," campaign... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • forums • Democrat • debates • David Plouffe • Election 2008 • presidential election

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