Presidential Debates Under Discussion

Aug. 21, 2000 -- Al Gore and George W. Bush both say they want to debate each other this fall, but remain at odds over when, where, and under what circumstances.

Appearing on ABCNEWS’ Good Morning America today, Gore, the Democratic nominee, said he favored taking part in the three debates already scheduled by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

“I think where the debates are concerned, the first step has to be for Governor Bush to accept the official national commission debates,” Gore said. “We’ve come to expect, as Americans, at least three prime-time debates set up by a bipartisan commission. And I’ve accepted those, of course, automatically, and he hasn’t accepted those yet.”

Speaking to reporters in Austin, Texas, this morning before flying to the Midwest for a day of campaigning, Bush said he would participate in debates with Gore, but indicated he was keeping his options open about which ones he would consider.

“I think I’d like to do is have debates … where people get a sense for what we both believe, that’s structured so both of us are to share our ideas in a way that people will listen to,” the Republican nominee said.

Last Thursday, the Bush campaign announced the Texas governor “will participate in three presidential debates this fall.”

But little else has been resolved. Bush has so far not committed to the debates planned by the bipartisan commission, which were arranged in January and are supposed to take place in October.

“We’re going to be considering all our options,” the Bush campaign’s director of communications, Karen Hughes, said on ABCNEWS’ This Week Sunday morning. “We have about 42 invitations.”

But members of the Gore campaign say Bush is reluctant to debate and is trying to avoid the commission’s proposed events.

“George Bush wants to engineer these debates so the fewest number of people see them,” Gore adviser Bob Shrum said on This Week. “He wants to pick and choose instead of doing the commission debates, which for over 20 years have been the debates.”

Dates for the three presidential debates proposed by the commission are Oct. 3 in Boston; Oct. 11 in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Oct. 17 in St. Louis.

Gore Camp Stakes Out Offensive

Gore, who has gained a reputation as a strong debater, agreed to the commission’s events months ago. His campaign has sought to portray Bush as being reluctant to debate the vice president, and even created a “debate duck countdown” on its Web site.

Earlier this summer, Gore accepted an offer to debate Bush on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman, while the Bush campaign declined to respond — a source of ongoing humor for the late-night talk-show host.

The statement issued by the Bush campaign on Thursday says Bush is “exceeding the norm” by agreeing to participate in three debates.

Every presidential campaign since 1976 has had at least two debates between the Democratic and Republican candidates, with three being held in 1976 and 1992.

Bush’s chief strategist, Karl Rove, said Campaign Manager Joe Allbaugh had been discussing the matter with Frank Fahrenkopf of the bipartisan commission, but added that Bush was open to additional debates.

“We’ll certainly consider others,” Rove said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Gore’s campaign chairman, William Daley, said Sunday on Meet the Press that the Democratic nominee would also be willing to be a part of additional debates.

Seeking to keep pressure on Bush to stick to the standard procedure for scheduling debates, Daley added, “We think the three debates the commission has set out, and that’s been the forum over the last number of presidential campaigns, is the appropriate one.”

The Bush campaign has also offered to have its vice-presidential candidate, Dick Cheney, participate in two debates, one more than the commission had proposed.

The planned vice-presidential debate, which would match Cheney against Gore’s running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Danville, Ky.

Room for Nader or Buchanan?

It is still to be determined if any minor-party candidates, including Green Party nominee Ralph Nader and potential Reform Party nominee Pat Buchanan, will be allowed to participate, although it appears likely the commission will rule neither has enough support to take part.

Minor-party candidates need 15 percent support in the polls to gain entry into the commission’s debates with the Democratic and Republican candidates — although they could take part in debates planned by other organizations.

This morning, Gore said he “has not expressed opposition” to having Nader in the debates, but claimed, “Most people want to see one-on-one debates.”

Polls show Nader is drawing more support from Gore than from Bush, so it would work to Bush’s advantage to have Nader appear in at least one debate along with Gore.

Asked on This Week if the Bush campaign was holding out to get Nader into at least one debate, Hughes said: “We have not really discussed that yet. I think that’s one of the things we’ll have to look at.”

In response, Shrum said, “I’m sure they’ve discussed it, and I think their definition of viable debates is the smallest possible audience.”

Nader, also appearing on This Week, said he does not expect to be part of the commission debates.

“Basically, the debate commission is a private group,” Nader said. “The Republican, Democrats created it. The tobacco, beer companies fund it. And it’s under their control. I hope other groups … offer a four-way debate that I don’t think Gore and Bush could deny.”