Bush, Kerry tentatively agree on 3 debates

Bush, Kerry tentatively agree on 3 debates But final agreement not in place yet
By Mike Allen and Dan Balz
Updated: 12:34 a.m. ET Sept. 20, 2004The campaigns of President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry have tentatively settled on a package of three face-to-face debates that both sides view as a potentially decisive chance to sway huge audiences ahead of the Nov. 2 election, Democrats and Republicans said yesterday. Bush's campaign, which opened the negotiations by urging just two sessions involving Bush and Kerry, yielded to the full slate of debates that had been proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, according to people in both parties who were briefed on the negotiations.No agreement will be final until the two sides agree on details for the format of a town-meeting-style debate that Bush at first resisted but now is willing to endorse, the party representatives said.The debates will be spread over two weeks just before the hectic homestretch of a bitter contest that had been tied for months until Bush recently opened a small lead in a number of national polls. The nominees will focus on foreign policy during the opening session, on Sept. 30 in Florida; they will take questions from undecided voters at the town-meeting-style debate Oct. 8 in Missouri; and they will conclude with a session on Oct. 13 in Arizona that will revolve around domestic issues.Vice President Cheney and Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards will debate Oct. 5 in Ohio. Each of the four debates will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time and will run 90 minutes.The officials, who declined to be identified because they were not supposed to be discussing the matter with reporters, would not say when an agreement will be announced. Both campaigns declined to comment on the state of negotiations. Bush-Cheney communications director Nicolle Devenish said: "The campaign maintains its position that it will not negotiate the terms of the debates in the press." Kerry's campaign sees the debates as especially important, coming after a period in which he has been put on the defensive by the Bush campaign and its conservative allies. Polls paint a confusing picture of the state of the race, with some showing a virtual dead heat and others giving Bush a clear advantage. In many of the key battleground states, Bush appears in stronger shape than his challenger.Bush's chief negotiator, former secretary of state James A. Baker III, agreed to three debates in part because of Missouri's importance as a swing state and because the president did not want to be portrayed as ducking his opponent, according to a source.Identifying uncommitted votersUnder the commission's proposal, the participants for the town meeting will be undecided voters from the St. Louis metropolitan area who are chosen by the Gallup Organization. "The Bush campaign didn't want to do the town hall because they really didn't trust the process identifying uncommitted voters," said a Republican source familiar with the talks. "But things are going so well for them and so poorly for Kerry that they didn't want to give Kerry an opportunity to change the subject and say that Bush is afraid of debates. Bush not doing debates or dragging out the debate on debates could have been played by the Kerry campaign as arrogance."A Democratic official involved in the process said the Kerry campaign worked to bring pressure on the Bush campaign through the news media, Republican donors and public officials in Missouri to go through with the town-hall debate. Bush won the state by three percentage points in 2000, and both sides expected it to be among the most closely contested swing states, although a number of polls show Bush ahead there now.After reaching agreement on the broad outlines of the schedule, Baker and Kerry's lead negotiator, Democratic power broker Vernon E. Jordan Jr., were negotiating details of the town meeting over the weekend. Officials indirectly involved said they believed that was the only element standing in the way of a final agreement. The Republican adviser said the one way that the schedule could change would be if Baker and Jordan did not work out all the specifics of the town meeting and Bush pulled out at the last minute.The town-meeting debate is to be held at Washington University in St. Louis, which hosted debates in 1992 and 2000 and had been selected as a commission site in 1996, but lost out when President Bill Clinton agreed to only two debates. University officials had already completed expensive preparations for security, broadcast transmission and parking.Baker insisted on reversing the commission's plan that the debates focus first on domestic policy and later on foreign policy, which the president's campaign sees as his strength. Jordan agreed, both sides said. The nonpartisan commission has sponsored debates in each election since 1988, but candidates are not obligated to accept the commission's proposal. As negotiations continued, the commission issued an unusual letter Wednesday saying the campaigns must settle on a schedule by today for production and logistical deadlines to be met. In a nudge to the Bush campaign, the letter included a reference to the popularity of the town-hall format with the public.'Better than Cicero'Both sides have already begun portraying the opposing candidate as a tremendous debater, as part of the quadrennial ritual of trying to lower expectations for the nominees' performances. Kerry strategist Joe Lockhart told reporters in a conference call Friday that he would "challenge anyone to name a major debate that George Bush has been in where he hasn't been considered the winner."Matthew Dowd, the Bush-Cheney campaign's chief strategist, said in an interview earlier this month that Kerry "is very formidable, and probably the best debater ever to run for president." "I'm not joking," Dowd added. "I think he's better than Cicero," the ancient Roman orator. "But I think it'll be a very good thing for the American public to see these two men stand side by side. You can't hide who you are."Both campaigns agreed to the dates, locations and moderators proposed by the commission. Commission officials plan to begin moving equipment and other materials into place at the debate sites today, on the assumption that their plan will be embraced by the campaigns.The Sept. 30 debate will be held at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and will be moderated by Jim Lehrer, anchor and executive editor of "The NewsHour" on PBS. The Oct. 8 town-hall debate will be moderated by Charles Gibson, co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America." The last debate, on Oct. 13, will be at Arizona State University in Tempe. The questioner will be Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of "Face the Nation."The Oct. 5 vice presidential debate will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and moderated by Gwen Ifill, moderator of PBS's "Washington Week."© 2004 The Washington Post Company------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subj: Urge the Networks to Air the Debates Date: 9/16/2004 3:56:03 PM Central Standard Time From: mfd@mediachannel.org Reply-to: notice-reply-wx6skekrl8383t@mail.mediafordemocracy.us To: apanda617@aol.com Sent from the Internet (Details) Return the Media to Message Dear Bonnie,With less than 50 days before the November 2 elections the major networks are still treating the American public to a steady diet of horse race, campaign mudslinging and character assassination, leaving very little airtime for substantive coverage of the issues Americans say they care about most: the economy, education, healthcare and national security/the war against terror. But there is still time to bring the issues before the camera.With the upcoming presidential debates the major networks have an important opportunity to return America's attention to a meaningful discussion of real issues. Three presidential debates have been proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates. John Kerry has agreed to all three. President Bush has yet to commit to any. In any event, network executives are still weighing whether to show up at all. And their track record isn't encouraging. In 2000, Fox skipped the first of the presidential debates, opting to air the premiere episode of "Dark Angel." NBC gave local stations the choice to air the 2000 Major League Baseball playoffs instead of the debates. Many NBC affiliates did. Last week, Media for Democracy -- along with other members of the Public Interest, Public Airwaves Coalition -- called on the ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks to make an immediate commitment to air all the presidential and vice presidential debates. As yet, there's no response from the network heads.So now, we need your help. Please sign our petition calling on the major network executives to agree to provide comprehensive coverage of the upcoming debates. A failure to broadcast the debates in full would sound the final breach of establishment news media's contract with Americans -- to engage voters in our democratic process with meaningful coverage of the candidates' stances on the issues that have an impact in our daily lives and on our country's future. You can also sign up to meet other media reformers in your community by joining our "Take Back Your Local TV" campaign at www.piomeetings.org. Stay tuned and ready, Timothy KarrMedia for DemocracyMediaChannel.orghttp://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/debate/ Open up this link to sign the petitionSign this petition and notify:ABC News President David Westin CBS News President Andrew Heyward CBS President Leslie Moonves Fox News CEO Roger Ailes Fox News Senior VP John Moody NBC News President Neal Shapiro NBC President Robert WrightPlease contact these networks at:CBS CBS News 524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-975-4321 Fax: 212-975-1893CBS Evening News with Dan Rather: evening@cbsnews.comThe Early Show: earlyshow@cbs.com60 Minutes II: 60II@cbsnews.com48 Hours: 48hours@cbsnews.comFace The Nation: ftn@cbsnews.commailto:grain@cbsnews.commg3@cbsnews.com cwp@cbsnews.comABC ABC News 77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023 Phone: 212-456-7777netaudr@abc.com2020@abcnews.comhttp://www.abcnews.go.com/service/Help/abcmail_news.htmlNBC NBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 Phone: 212-664-4444 Fax: 212-664-4426 NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw: nightly@nbc.comNBC News' Today: today@nbc.comDateline NBC: dateline@nbc.comFOX Fox News Channel1211 Ave. of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Phone: (212) 301-3000 Fax: (212) 301-4229 Special Report with Brit Hume: Special@foxnews.comFOX Report with Shepard Smith: Foxreport@foxnews.comHannity & Colmes: Hannity@foxnews.com,Colmes@foxnews.comOn the Record with Greta: Ontherecord@foxnews.comfoxnewsonline@foxnews.comEric.Spinato@Foxnews.com oreilly@foxnews.comTo Each Network:I am calling on each major broadcast network to make a public commitment now to air the presidential and vice-presidential debates live this fall.Media for Democracy members have been disappointed by your decision to relegate political news to secondary sources (such as digital channels) or to times when most Americans are not watching television. Only the Sunday morning public affairs shows contained a significant amount of substantive candidate and issue discussion. But because only a small number of Americans choose to watch television on Sunday mornings, voters were deprived of opportunities to hear directly from candidates about their backgrounds and policy proposals.Recently, your network's decision to devote just three hours to each party's nominating convention sent a clear message to voters that, not only were the conventions unimportant, but also that the upcoming elections don't merit our nation's full attention.That's why I am asking you to pledge to air each presidential and vice-presidential debate live, in full, and on your primary channel so that all Americans have an opportunity to watch the candidates address important national issues. Broadcast television plays a critical role in our nation's political life and in the health and vibrancy of our democratic process. Your network ought to live up to its statutory obligation to serve the public interest by making a public commitment today to air the upcoming debates. Sign this Petition! Instructions:Sign this petition: http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/campaign/debate/Open up this link to sign the petition Tell-A-Friend:Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-Friend! What's At Stake:By Timothy KarrNEW YORK, September 17, 2004 -- Our campaign season has become mired in the thick of a battle most of us never asked for. Repeated attacks on both candidates' Vietnam War record -- mounted by competing cliques of political operatives -- speak of a democratic process overrun by well-funded character assassins. The problem is not the mud being slung by the likes of John O'Neill (Swift Boats on the right) and Glen W. Smith (Texans for Truth on the left), but a media that merely parrots their corrosive rhetoric, failing -- through professional scrutiny and investigative legwork -- to put to rest claims that simply aren't true, and to hold liars to account. With less than 50 days left before Americans go to the polls, the main news outlets seem content to spread the gunsmoke of controversy -- to the degree that their attention to the latest sparring over Bush and Kerry's military service 30 years ago has obscured coverage of each candidates' stance on the issues that voters say matter most. Media for Democracy analysis of network news' campaign coverage in the first six months of 2004 reveals that NBC, ABC and CBS devoted less than five percent of their nightly coverage of the candidates to their positions on the economy, health care, education and national security. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll listed these four issues as the most important factors determining Americans' vote for president this year. Passing Up the Beef for the Sizzle That many in the nation's media are overlooking issues that resonate most with Americans is not for a lack of recent events. . . . . . read the entire report at MediaChannel:http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert257.shtml Campaign Expiration Date:November 2, 2004 If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Media For Democracy 2004:http://www.mediafordemocracy.us/mfd/join.html?r=9p_KByp1h7J4E Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from Media For Democracy 2004, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove" in the subject line). --------------------http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/affalert257.shtml Overrun by AssassinsBy Timothy KarrMediachannel.org NEW YORK, September 17, 2004 -- Our campaign season has become mired in the thick of a battle most of us never asked for. Repeated attacks on both candidates' Vietnam War record -- mounted by competing cliques of political operatives -- speak of a democratic process overrun by well-funded character assassins. The problem is not the mud being slung by the likes of John O'Neill (Swift Boats on the right) and Glen W. Smith (Texans for Truth on the left), but a media that merely parrots their corrosive rhetoric, failing -- through professional scrutiny and investigative legwork -- to put to rest claims that simply aren't true, and to hold liars to account. With less than 50 days left before Americans go to the polls, the main news outlets seem content to spread the gunsmoke of controversy -- to the degree that their attention to the latest sparring over Bush and Kerry's military service 30 years ago has obscured coverage of each candidates' stance on the issues that voters say matter most. Media for Democracy analysis of network news' campaign coverage in the first six months of 2004 reveals that NBC, ABC and CBS devoted less than five percent of their nightly coverage of the candidates to their positions on the economy, health care, education and national security. A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll listed these four issues as the most important factors determining Americans' vote for president this year. Passing Up the Beef for the SizzleThat many in the nation's media are overlooking issues that resonate most with Americans is not for a lack of recent events:* On September 3, Medicare announced a 17.4 percent increase in premiums next year, the largest single increase in the program's 40-year history.* On September 7, The Congressional Budget Office forecast the federal deficit for 2004 would be $422 billion higher than last year's record $375 billion gap. * As children returned to classrooms last week, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report found that the number of younger Americans with a high school education had slid to 10th place among member countries. * And on Thursday, The New York Times revealed that an internal US intelligence report prepared for President Bush presented a gloomy outlook for Iraq, saying that at worst the country might descend into civil war. Meanwhile, U.S. forces and the interim Iraqi authority virtually have ceded control of much of the "Sunni Triangle" to insurgents. These stories and their political implications were simply bumped down the television news queue by a campaign press gang that seems inextricably drawn to political mudslinging. "The media, particularly cable TV (which drives so much of the agenda nowadays), make it worse by favoring hot-button stories over complex, hard-to-illustrate real problems that the next president can actually work on," Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter wrote earlier this week. To the extent that mainstream media focus on character controversies of the past, they are cheating Americans out of what we say we want most: a meaningful discussion of the candidates' stances on the issues that have an impact in our daily lives and on our country's future. Returning to Message by Covering the DebatesThe upcoming presidential debates are broadcast media's last chance to return their coverage to message. Three debates have been proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that oversees the quadrennial face-off between leading presidential candidates. President Bush has yet to say whether he will participate. John Kerry has agreed to meet the president at all three. In any event, network executives are still weighing whether to show up at all. And their track record isn't encouraging. In 2000, Fox skipped the first of the presidential debates, opting to air the premiere episode of "Dark Angel," a short-lived fantasy drama set in a post-apocalypse future. NBC gave local stations the choice to air the 2000 Major League Baseball playoffs instead of the debates. Many NBC affiliates did. This year Fox has the rights to broadcast the baseball playoffs. Expect the worst. Last week, members of the Public Interest, Public Airwaves Coalition - an alliance of more than 25 powerful public interest groups [including MediaChannel.org] -- called on the ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks to make an immediate commitment to air all the presidential and vice presidential debates. As yet, there's no response from the network heads. [Update: 24 hours after publication of this story, CBS News responded to MediaChannel that they plan to cover all of the debates in full.]Their silence is itself an admission -- as Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism put it aptly on Sunday -- "that the prestige and influence of their news divisions no longer matter much to them." A failure to broadcast the debates in full would sound the final breach of broadcast news media's contract with Americans -- to engage voters in our democratic process with programming that informs about candidates' positions on the most critical issues of the day. Without their fulfillment of this vital public service, our political system is left to the whims of partisan rancor and propaganda. -- Timothy Karr is the executive director of MediaChannel.org and Media for Democracy -- a citizens-powered initiative to hold media to a higher standard of political coverage in 2004.

posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 20.9.04

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