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NewsHour Links: Debate
coverage Debating
Our Destiny NewsHour
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The
Debate Debate
What are debates and how do they affect our political system? Debates are NOT as fun as friends arguing over what to do Saturday night. Debates are NOT what high school students do in debating competitions or what outspoken family members do around the dinner table. Debates ARE political television/radio shows in which the candidates are under tremendous pressure to appear capable of running the most powerful country in the world. For people who like politics, and even those who don't, the uncertainty of how candidates will handle the intensity of the moment makes presidential debates unique, and sometimes fun!
We've created an entire Web site that looks at the last 40 years of debates. It includes interviews with people who were in them, and suggestions on how to watch them. The site can help you answer questions like: what's more important, a debater's words or appearance? How do politicians prepare for debates? And what can you do if someone insults you in front of millions of people? The Power of Debate Debates have been helping decide who becomes president for over 100 years. The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 set the stage for Abraham Lincoln's run for the presidency. In his verbal exchanges with Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, Lincoln defined his position on slavery and the meaning of the Union. If you think debates
are long now, back then, audiences listened for three hours! The first
candidate spoke for an hour, the second for an hour and half and then
the first got 30 minutes for the last word. The 1960 presidential debate was the first ever to be broadcast on television, as Richard M. Nixon faced John F. Kennedy. People who heard it on the radio tended to conclude that Nixon argued the issues better. But those who watched on television were drawn to the young, confident Kennedy. Kennedy won the election in a very close race. Debate 2000 For Wednesday's debate, the goal for Gore was to not annoy the audience. During the first debate, he sighed loudly when Bush was talking. He also repeatedly asked for more time like the smartest kid in the class who can't keep her hand down. Bush, on the other hand, will again try to sound smart and capable. On the campaign trail, Bush has gotten his words confused and he once failed a reporter's pop quiz on world leaders. Will the vice president manage to be less annoying? Will the Texas governor convince America that he has the brains to run the show? Tune in and find out. Then, tell us what you think about the debates.
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Former
President George Bush says they're just show business, President Clinton
says they reveal what candidates truly believe.